A Tale of Two Hanyous
by Sandrock
Summary: What appears to initially be a simple case of theft involving a few shikon shards and an impostor in the modern world embroils Kagome and Inuyasha in an epic struggle that has spanned five hundred years... one that's unfortunately all too close to home.
1. A Tale of Two Hanyous Chapter One

A Tale of Two Hanyous – An Inuyasha fanfiction based on the animated series  
By Sandrock (sandrock@sandrockproductions.com) 

Legal Disclaimer  
Inuyasha do be the property of one Rumiko Takahashi.

Content Guidelines: Mild dialogue  


* * *

  
As silent as the night, the wind wafted into the room, bringing with it the cold twilight air that lay just beyond the comforting, insulated walls. Glancing up, Higurashi Kagome suppressed a mild sigh, forcing herself out of her seat and crossing the short distance between her desk and the window. She reached out, shutting it tight. 

For a moment, she stood there, her gaze fixated on the panoramic vista that lay before her - the stone paving and gardens of the house compound in the foreground, and the dazzling skyline of Tokyo lighting up the horizon. Gently, she shook her head, smiling - having to spend so much time away from home, and from modern amenities, had done wonders for the girl's appreciation for all things contemporary. 

Her gaze wandered, taking in the sights of the city alive at night, and her hand came to rest on the windowpane, just next to the broken latch that no longer fulfilled its duty.

Her smile returned. The latch in question had been broken for ages now, ever since the first time a certain dog-eared hanyou had snuck into her time to fetch her. Not wanting to do things the easy way, he'd leapt up and tried to enter through her window, as he was apt to do. Unfortunately, the window had been locked, and his efforts to enter snapped the latch. No one had bothered to fix it since.

Allowing herself another quiet smirk, she turned back, steeling herself to face yet another intense bout of geography revision.

And a frigid gust of cold air burst into the room, sending her hair into disarray.

She frowned. That meant only one thing.

Her face already contorted with annoyance, she whipped around to face the one she knew would be crouching on her windowsill, ready to defend herself. In a voice that wasn't quite a yell, she glared at him, "What on earth are you doing here so soon?! I only left this morning and you promised me three days! I told you I've got a seriously important exam coming up, and I really have to-"

"I'm not here to take you back."

She blinked, "What?"

Golden eyes stared back at her impassively as the white-haired hanyou returned the gaze. Leaping off the windowsill, he landed deftly on the carpet, straightening up and stretching a little. He glanced at her again, and repeated himself.

"I said I'm not here to take you back."

Confusion set in as Kagome tried to make sense of his unusually cryptic remarks, watching him as he continued to gaze at her, "Then what do you want?"

The hanyou shook his head gently, setting flowing white locks into graceful, quiet motion, the loose folds of his bright-red hakama rustling softly, "There's no time to explain something's happened, and I need your help. Do you still have the shikon shards?"

Kagome raised an eyebrow, "Of course I do. You just saw them this morning they're on the desk."

He smiled, "Great. I'll have them back to you soon, then."

Faster than humanly possible, the white-haired half-demon swept across the room, scooping up the small container holding the few shikon fragments, before disappearing out the window in one swift motion. 

Confusion morphed into alarm as Kagome dashed after him. What the hell is he thinking? Don't tell me he's gone off on one of his Kikyou tangents again and decided he doesn't want to see me again

Without thought, she leaned out of the window, still able to vaguely make out his form, speedily dashing away. Without care, she yelled out the one word that she knew would subdue him, awaiting the inevitable crashing sound that could only mean hanyou meeting concrete.

It never came. Slowly but surely, Higurashi Kagome felt the presence of the shikon fragments grow steadily weaker, before finally winking out. Unable to process all that had happened in such short a time, she slumped down in a heap, her head coming to rest just below the window.

_What on earth's going on?_

*****

Poking an eye beyond the divider that separated dining from living room, Higurashi Souta swallowed nervously as he stared at the person immovably fixed to the sofa, her eyes blankly staring at the television and an English textbook carelessly dumped on her lap. 

Swallowing again, he tried to work up the courage to speak, but didn't quite manage to get past a whisper, "_Ne-chan_, dinner will be ready soon. You should get ready"

When she didn't respond, he sighed, and tried again, louder this time, "_Ne-chan_"

Angry brown eyes whipped around to glare at him, "I heard you the first time."

Instinctively taking a step back, Souta gulped, backing off into the relative security of the dining room.

Kagome sighed, grabbing the remote and turning the television off. Three days and still no sign of that idiot. Getting up, she smoothed down her dress, textbook in hand, and headed for the staircase. Since Inuyasha's mysterious appearance and abduction of the shikon fragments, she'd gone to the well twice, trying to sense the shards, as she'd done once before. Fate, or luck, hadn't been on her side this time, however, and the shikon shards remained beyond her grasp.

Muttering under her breath about certain stubborn, mule-headed hanyous, she carefully placed her English textbook back in the pile of revision material before turning toward the bathroom to wash up before dinner.

And the window snapped open with a loud click, moments before a familiar, rather annoyed voice reached across the room.

"You're late. You asked for three days, and it's been four. Don't tell me you actually like me coming here to drag you back."

For a moment, she paused. Slowly turning her head just enough to catch sight of him on the periphery of her vision, she narrowed her eyes. Golden eyes frowned back at her, as the hanyou folded his arms, his expression a match for hers.

"What're you looking at?"

She remained silent a moment longer.

"_Osuwari_."

Inuyasha stifled a small grunt as the power of the charm necklace kicked in, sending him crashing to the ground. With practiced ease, he picked himself up, instantaneously leaping up and glaring at her. A low, vaguely menacing growl escaped from his throat.

"You've got two seconds to explain what the hell that was for."

She stared daggers at him, "I should be the one asking -you- that."

The hanyou's eyed narrowed further as he crossed the distance between them, staring down at her, "What the hell do you mean?! I just got here!"

She glared back, "Don't pretend you've already forgotten! You came here out of the blue the night after I left you guys, grabbed the shikon shards and disappeared as quickly as you got here! And I thought you were finally acting pleasant-"

He cut her off in mid-sentence, his face already contorted with anger, "You lost the shards again?!"

She clenched her fists, closing her eyes, "No, I didn't! You took them from me! Why are you making this MY fault?!"

He snorted, "What are you, stupid?! I haven't been here in weeks! Whoever you gave the shards to, it wasn't me!"

Growling again, he dropped to all fours, muttering under his breath, "I can't believe it! Now I have to go track some bastard thief down and"

He trailed off. Backing away to give him some space, she watched as he sniffed about the room, watched as his expression changed from anger to confusion.

Slowly, she ventured, asking the obvious.

"Well? You'll have to tell me sooner or later who was it?"

He looked up. Golden eyes met brown. Softly, he spoke.

"Me."


	2. A Tale of Two Hanyous Chapter Two

A Tale of Two Hanyous - Chapter Two of an Inuyasha fanfiction based on the anime  
By Sandrock (sandrock@sandrockproductions.com)

Legal Disclaimer  
Inuyasha do be the property of one Rumiko Takahashi.

Content Guideline: crude dialogue, violence

______________________________________________________________  


Glossary - for those of you brought up on the CN dub of Inuyasha ^_^;

_baka_ - fool/idiot  
_goshinboku_ - The sacred God-Tree  
_hanyou_ - half-demon, e.g. Inu-kun  
_hijin kessou_ - claws of blood  
_kaze no kizu_ - the Wound of the Wind/Cutting Wind  
_sankon tessou - _soul-scattering iron claw/iron-reaver-soul-stealer  
_shikon no tama_ - the Shikon jewel/Jewel of Four Souls  
_youkai_ - demon  
_youki - _demon energy  
_______________________________________________________________ 

The wind had never felt so cold.

As the bright lights of the Tokyo skyline streaked past with unfamiliar speed, Higurashi Kagome found herself unconsciously tightening her grip on the shoulders of the one speedily making his way through the world she called her own, lost in thought as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop with ease and an almost effortless grace, silver-white locks flowing in the wind. 

It seemed different today. Many times had she rode on his back as they traversed the mountains, valleys and forests of feudal Japan, and never would she forget the one time not all that long ago when he had sweetly offered to rush her to school for an important test. Often had she taken refuge in the warm firmness of his form, secure in the knowledge that all would be well, as long as he was around.

None of that seemed to matter at that moment - not with the _shikon_ shards they possessed missing, for the first time in ages and in her own world no less, and not with the knowledge that the one who held them had the ability to mimic, not just the look, but also the scent and just about everything else of the hanyou she had come to care for more deeply than she would like to admit, even to herself. He had grown so, changed so much since their first fateful encounter at the _goshinboku_ - it was hard to imagine him now as the one who had coldly wanted to flay her open, or at least scare her enough to make her believe it so, in his bid to obtain the once-whole _shikon no tama_.

Her train of thought broke as she found herself startled by the fierce growl rumbling in the throat of the one carrying her. His voice, when he spoke, was low, angry, "I can still smell the bastard. It's faint, but it's definitely there." He paused, brilliant golden eyes scanning the horizon. 

"Keh! The asshole's been busy. My... **his** scent's all over the place but if he thinks that's gonna throw me off track, he's frickin' mistaken."

His fists clenched, the trademark cracking sound resounding in the night, "I'll beat the crap outta him. I'll rip him apart. No. I'll beat the crap outta him, **then** I'll rip him apart."

Kagome remained silent. Loosening her grip slightly, she steeled herself for what she knew she had to do. Softly, she whispered, "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I I didn't mean to lose the shards again." 

His head tilted back, and large golden eyes pierced into her. For a moment, he was quiet, as though studying her, the silence more unnerving than if he had simply yelled as he used to do in such situations. Wordlessly, he turned back, eyes facing front.

The Japanese girl suppressed a flinch. _He can't even bring himself to yell at me. Is he that disappointed?_

Her answer came almost instantly. 

"Oh, quit it with the apology routine already. It's not like it's gonna help or anything" 

The hanyou paused again, turning around to look at her. His face looked sullen, with a slight hint of distaste, as it often did when he was about to say something particularly difficult, "besides, I can't blame you. His scent's a perfect match for mine and if he can manage that, he can probably make himself look like me as well"

His expression changed, his glare taking on an air of superiority, " as least well enough to fool your feeble human eyes."

All semblance of guilt fled the girl. Frowning slightly, she smacked him on the head, "Stop talking and watch where you're going. You nearly slammed headfirst into a satellite dish back there."

"Feh."

*****

The smell of the ocean was almost overpowering, the odd blend of seawater and the stench of decaying fish threatening to make the Japanese girl retch as the hanyou crouched down to let her back on solid ground.

Willing herself to ignore the smell, Kagome looked around cautiously, taking in the somewhat-breathtaking sight of the ocean in twilight, with the distant light of ships marking the horizon, and the silent, dark silhouettes of warehouses dotting the bay side.

Turning to her companion, she whispered softly, "Are you sure?"

The silver-haired hanyou nodded, "He's here. The scent's freshest here."

Without another word, he grabbed her by the hand, silently leading the way past warehouse after warehouse, only to stop a moment later in front of one among their number. Peering into the darkness, Kagome tried to make out what made this one so special, staring past the chain-link fence into the compound.

She frowned, pointing into the distance, "Careful, Inuyasha. There seems to be a security post over there. We can't be caught lurking around-"

The half-demon cut her off in mid-sentence, scoffing as he looked in the direction she indicated, "What's the big deal? Even if they spot me, it's not like they can"

He trailed off, his eyebrows narrowing into a frown, "Something's not right. C'mon, we gotta go look."

Higurashi Kagome barely had time to realise what was happening before Inuyasha leapt into action. Scooping her up in his arms, he crouched down momentarily before springing up and over the fence, landing deftly on the other side as quietly as any cat. In a flash, he was off with her still in tow, sprinting with his trademark speed in the direction of the security post.

Alarm rising within her, Kagome willed herself not to yell, speaking instead with quiet forcefulness, "What are you doing?! I told you that's a security post do you **want** to get caught?"

He responded with silence, instead sliding to a halt as he reached his destination. He sniffed.

"Just as I thought. Look."

As the hanyou set her down again, Kagome turned cautiously, looking inside the brightly lit room only to stifle a gasp. It was, indeed, a guard post, and it presumably did once act as a base for security personnel guarding the warehouse.

Now, it was simply a morgue. Four bodies, withered and shrivelled, but otherwise intact and still in their uniforms, sat slumped in their seats in front of a large, damaged surveillance console.

The Japanese girl tried to avert her eyes but found them inextricably locked with the ghastly sight that lay before her. Instinctively, she drew closer to her hanyou companion, who was shaking his head in disgust.

"Feh. Looks like their life energy's been sucked right out of them. No soul, no nothing. Not a drop left."

"Did did a youkai do this?"

He raised an eyebrow, giving her a look that said she'd just uttered something stupid, "Do you know any human who could do something like this? Of course it's a youkai, _baka_!"

Kagome remained silent.

The hanyou muttered something under his breath for a moment, then started walking off, "C'mon. We're just wasting time let's go hunt the bastard down and make him pay."

The Japanese girl watched momentarily as he walked away, watched as the dark of night again shrouded his sleek form. She moved to catch up.

_You know, Inuyasha, just as I do._

_You know there is one human who could do something like this._

*****

Entry into the warehouse proved easier than expected - the door to a side entrance leading in had been left unlocked. Nimbly stepping past some debris on the floor, Kagome walked carefully, trying not to bump into anything, waiting for her eyes to acclimatise to the darkness.

Squinting, she called out, "Inuyasha, wait up it's too dark for me to see in here."

Sighing, the hanyou whipped around angrily, "Look, we're never gonna get anything done if you keep fumbling around like that!" Crossing the distance between them, he grabbed her hand, muttering as he did, "Just just follow where I go, and you'll be fine!"

As they made their way through the confines of the warehouse, Kagome slowly found herself able to make out more of her surroundings, aided in part by the moonlight streaming in from the glass panels set high in the walls. What that revealed, however, wasn't particularly spectacular - nothing seemed out of the ordinary about the place. For all intents and purposes, it was nothing more than a storage facility, containing row after row of the massive twenty-metre-long cargo containers used to hold goods during sea transport.

Looking to her silver-haired hanyou for reassurance, she squeezed his hand, feeling as he reciprocated her gesture. Softly, she whispered again, "Can you sense anything?"

Inuyasha shook his head. He opened his mouth, as if to speak.

And bumped right into a black-clad human form.

Instantly, the form reacted, screeching out in a high-pitched wail. Whipping around, it fumbled at its side, as though reaching for a weapon. 

Inuyasha didn't give it the chance. Clenching a fist, the hanyou slugged the form hard across the face with enough force to send it flying clean across the room and right smack into one of the containers, the impact creating a huge dent in the side of the sturdy metal frame.

For a moment, it lay motionless. Then, unbelievably, it got back up, shakily walking back in their direction, the high-pitched wail once again emanating from within.

Kagome watched as Inuyasha tensed up, every fibre of his being signalling his readiness to fight. Again, a low growl escaped from his throat.

_Why didn't he sense them?_

For the briefest of moments, moonlight fell on the face of their opponent, and the Japanese girl found herself instinctively taking a step back, for within the black-clad form, staring back at her, was a face not too dissimilar from the ones they had just seen on the dead guards outside the building.

Her mind raced. 

_Not human._

_And I don't even have my bow._

A slight movement in front caught her attention, and her eyes widened in alarm, "Inuyasha, watch out! There are more of them behind the first one."

The hanyou smiled menacingly as he watched the half-dozen or so forms slowly congregate, "Keh. Brought some friends, did you?"

His claws glinted in the moonlight, as his smile broke into a full grin, "Not that it'll make any difference." He broke into a run, arms outstretched and poised to slice apart all who stood in his way.

The creatures stood their ground. Slowly, as one, they reached to their sides, drawing out dark, metallic objects that shone in the moonlight as much as the hanyou's claws did, moments ago.

For the second time in minutes, Higurashi Kagome's eyes widened in alarm. Dropping to a crouch, she screamed out at the blurred form dashing towards the creatures, "Inuyasha! No! They have gu-"

Her voice was drowned out by what sounded like deafening rapid cracks of thunder. She stared, horrified.

The initial hail of bullets struck the hanyou hard, tearing into his fire-rat cloak and slamming into his chest. Momentarily, he winced, stumbling back as the pain travelled through his body. He could smell the scent of his own blood, slowly seeping through his clothes.

_Shit what the hell was that?_

Already, he could see another wave of the sharp, piercing objects flying toward him, eager to strike the fatal blow. But the hanyou was a fast learner.

Breaking into a run, Inuyasha swerved erratically, dodging the projectiles that had proven effective in hurting him before leaping high into the air, even as he plunged his claws deep into the wound.

"_Hijin kessou_!" 

His arm lashed out, sending claws of blood flying into the midst of the creatures, instantly rending them and their weapons to shreds. Dropping to the ground, he quickly inspected his handiwork, making sure that none survived. Behind him, he could hear Kagome running to catch up.

A moment later, she was at his side, checking for wounds, the question already on her lips, "Inuyasha, are you oh, god you -are- hurt. I my medical kit"

The hanyou brushed aside her concerns, "Look, you should know me better by now. I'm not gonna die from something like this even if those were very strange weapons."

"But"

The sound of a door opening at the far end of the room stopped Kagome in mid-sentence. Beside her, Inuyasha reached to his waist, his hand grasping Tetsusaiga's hilt.

From the far door, a black mass of the creatures came pouring out, all wailing in the same high-pitched manner, and steadily making their way towards the human girl and the hanyou. In a flash, Inuyasha had Tetsusaiga drawn and at the ready, but his face betrayed an uncharacteristic concern. He shook his head, "I don't get it I can't sense them at all. There's no scent, no smell nothing."

He grinned, "No matter. I'll finish them off with one swing before they can even reach us."

"No, Inuyasha. You can't use Tetsusaiga."

The hanyou's head whipped around to glare at Kagome, "What do you mean I can't use Tetsusaiga?! There's too many of them for me to take down one at a time!"

She shook her head firmly, "You just can't! There could be tons of explosives in some of these containers and who knows how much damage the _kaze no kizu_ will do in here! You could bring down the whole building and kill us both in the process!"

Yelling back, he glared daggers at her, "Well, then how do you expect me to stop that many"

Trailing off, the hanyou paused as something caught his attention. Sheathing his sword, he turned back to her, "Go. Stand far back, as far as you can I think I have a way out of this."

"What what are you planning to do?"

Golden eyes locked with hers. "Just go. Trust me."

Still looking at him, Kagome did as she was told, stepping back and away from the silver-haired hanyou. _Don't do anything stupid, Inuyasha._

In the distance, she watched as he turned back to the approaching horde, watched as he flashed another smug grin. 

Then, without warning, he crouched down, digging his hands beneath the nearest cargo container. His body tensed.

Kagome's eyes widened. _No_

With a loud growl, Inuyasha heaved the massive container clean off the ground, exerting with what seemed to be every iota of his considerable hanyou strength, his whole body quivering with the effort. 

Sensing the danger, the approaching horde stopped, readying their weapons.

The growl morphed into a roar as the hanyou lunged forward, sending twenty metres of metal container crashing into the horde and into the wall beyond, the entire building shaking with the force of the impact.

Wordlessly, the hanyou turned, grabbing Kagome and leaping out the way they came.

*****

"What the hell were you thinking, doing something like that?! You could've gotten hurt, especially when you're already wounded!"

The hanyou gave her a long-suffering stare, "You told me not to use the Tetsusaiga. I had to do something."

Kagome glared back at him, her hands busy working the bandage around the wound on his torso, "Yeah, but did you have to do that?! What if that container really did have explosives inside? What then, you moron?"

He turned away, "Feh. I didn't see **you** coming up with any suggestions."

Standing up abruptly, he stretched a little, easing his cloak back on. Turning to her, he watched her for a moment. He spoke.

"Look I want you to go home. It's getting a little too dangerous, and you don't even have your arrows with you. I'll handle things from here."

Dumping the bandage back inside the medical kit they had found inside the now-abandoned security post, she stood up as well, her face lit with indignation, "There's no way I'm letting you back in there alone!"

"There's no time to argue, Kagome"

"I told you no and I mean-"

"Kagome please. I can handle this."

His quiet urging startled her, dissolving her resolve to argue. She looked down.

He smiled, "Good. Go straight home and don't look back. I'll be back before you know it."

Standing up, he looked at her again, giving her one of his reassuring smiles before he raced off, "I'm prepared for them now. They won't even see me this time."

Silently, Higurashi Kagome watched at the red-cloaked form disappeared into the darkness. Slowly, she stood up, tidying up the medical kit and shutting it tight. She looked in the direction he had run off in.

And followed.

She did not notice the form swiftly catching up with her from behind. She did not see its eyes glinting in the darkness as it trailed her.

But she felt it, when a steely hand grabbed her by the face and dragged her into the twilight.

*****

The hanyou smirked silently, looking down as he hung from the support beams attached to the ceiling of the warehouse, surveying his handiwork. Below, the room lay in ruins, the crumpled remains of the container he had thrown at the horde of creatures smashed against the far wall that was now sporting a huge gaping hole.

Nothing stirred.

Except

There was no mistaking it. In the room beyond the far wall, there was something a hint of energy, of power of some sort.

_Youki. It has to be youki._

But there was something not quite right about the feel of the _youki_. It seemed odd, like

like it had an almost human quality to it.

Swiftly, he made his way across the room, readying himself to drop down and charge into the adjoining room, ready to confront whatever lay beyond. He didn't get the chance.

Arrows of white energy lanced through the broken wall, shattering concrete and sending debris flying everywhere. The energy smashed into the ceiling, slicing through the metal beams as like through butter, sending the hanyou crashing into the ground.

Muttering a string of feudal era curses, Inuyasha coughed, the dust and smoke clogging up his nose. He picked himself up. And found that he couldn't.

*****

Kicking and trying her best to scream past the steely hand clamping down over her mouth, Higurashi Kagome fought like a wildcat against the firm grip that held her at bay. Her efforts, however, proved near futile - her captor, not unexpectedly, seemed inhumanly strong, shrugging off even her wildest blows with the effort one would use to swat a fly.

_Inuyasha help_

The panic within her was rising steadily, her focus entirely on writhing, squirming and somehow escaping the grasp of the one holding her captive. It took her a while to realise that her would-be captor was, in fact, speaking to her. 

"Kagome hey! Stop it! It's me Kagome! It's me!!"

Her eyes snapped open. Turning in disbelief, she stared back at her captor.

Bright, golden eyes met hers. He released her.

Anger quickly replaced panic. She frowned, "Inuyasha! What the hell were you thinking, sneaking up on me like that? And where did you come from? I thought you went-"

_I thought you went inside._

Concern flooded her again as she took a step back warily from the hanyou in front of her, frantically scrutinising every inch of him, searching for some sign that all was not right.

She froze.

"You're not Inuyasha."

The silver-haired hanyou smirked, raising an eyebrow as he looked back at her. His voice was gentle as he spoke.

"Just because there isn't a charm necklace around my neck, and no Tetsusaiga at my waist?"

Kagome paused, stunned by his frankness. "Well yeah."

And the golden-eyed hanyou laughed. Indignation crept back into her stare, "What's so funny, you you impostor?!"

He still smiled at her, "An impostor, am I? Looks like I'll just have to prove you wrong."

Grabbing her arm, the hanyou dragged her close. Crouching down in front of her, he looked up, his eyes like oceans of gold. His ears twitched.

"Only two people have ever touched my ears with my consent my mother, and you, Kagome. Well there _were_ those incidents with _your_ mother and that little girl, but that's beside the point. What I'm trying to say is only two people can possibly know."

He smiled at her again, "Prove it to yourself, Kagome. I am Inuyasha."

The girl froze. _How could he know?_

Tentatively, she reached forward, her fingers making contact with the soft, velvety fur of the hanyou's right ear, unsure of what to believe. Probing gently, she found the spot hidden deep inside his ear that would prove her right or wrong. And she looked.

_His birthmark. It's there._

She leaned back, her mind awash with uncertainty, "How how is it possible?"

The one who claimed to be Inuyasha smiled. One hand reached forward, gently touching the side of her face, "It is. I am who I say I am. You have to trust me on that."

The hanyou looked into her eyes, "It's it's been so long since I last saw that face."

Frowning, Kagome tried to make sense of his words. _It's been so long? What is he_

Again, her eyes widened, as the realisation about who this Inuyasha really was struck her.

_No it can't be can it?_

She looked up at the hanyou, staring at him. His back was to her. And he was undoing the sash at his waist, shrugging off his fire-rat cloak.

Kagome sweatdropped. 

_A t-shirt and jeans? Sneakers?_

His head turned slightly, catching sight of her incredulous gaze with the periphery of his vision. He gave her a defensive look, "Well, what did you expect me to do? I don't go about dressed like that these days, but I needed to convince you, right? And it was hard enough convincing you **even** while wearing that old thing!"

He paused momentarily, "Would you even have given me the shards four days ago if I'd come to your window dressed like Houjou about to take you on a date?"

For once, the Japanese girl was speechless.

He eyed her, "Well, don't just stand there. It's not safe leaving you alone out here something I really should've realised back then, but there's no time to waste either

"I have to go save myself."

*****

The force binding him to the ground was immense, unlike anything he'd ever felt before. All around, the dark creatures wailed, as though crying for his blood. But none dared move closer to him, as if they were waiting for something.

All of a sudden, the wailing ceased, and a hush fell over the room. The _youki_ he had sensed earlier was becoming more prominent, more powerful.

Fighting the binding power of the spell that held him captive, Inuyasha craned his neck, willing himself to look ahead, to look in the direction of the raw power that was emanating from beyond. And he saw it.

Among the horde of black-clad creatures, one walked forward, a petite form cloaked in white, walking steadily through the thronging mass, headed for him. 

The form stopped, less than two feet away from his head.

And laughed, a soft feminine laugh. She spoke.

"Really, Inuyasha. Were you ever really **this** weak? My binds have never been this effective before."

The hanyou's ears twitched. 

_A woman_

Out loud, however, he merely growled, "Who're you calling weak, bitch?"

As if to prove himself, Inuyasha tensed up, his muscles flexing beneath his robes as he fought against the bindings that were now crackling menacingly. He managed to get to his knees, his body again quivering with effort. 

Moving forward to protect the one that was clearly their leader, five of the once-humans grabbed hold of him, only to be instantly ripped apart by the claws of an enraged half-demon who had managed to free himself from the binds of magic. Turning to the woman, the hanyou lunged forward, drawing Tetsusaiga as he swung back, ready to cleave her in two.

He never reached her. Before he could even bring his sword down, the woman in white gestured with her hand, and an arrow of white energy caught the hanyou in mid-stride, lifting him up and impaling him through the shoulder against the nearest wall.

He grimaced as the arrow seared into his flesh, gravity pulling at him even as the arrow kept him aloft. His right hand went numb. Tetsusaiga clattered to the floor, transformation undone.

The woman smiled, already having closed the distance between them. Again, she spoke, "You should've listened to your brother, Inuyasha. He was right, you know - your attacks have always been so predictable."

She laughed again, "It's been so long since I last saw you like this. In fact, as you are now, you're so weak, I could just kill you and save myself a lot of trouble, couldn't I?"

She leaned closer, her face still obscured by the hood of her cloak, "But I won't. There's no honour in that. Besides, the past five hundred years have been fun, to say the least. "

Shivering from the pain, the hanyou grimaced as he tried to force himself to speak, "What are you talking about you b.bitch? How how do you know me?"

The woman laughed again, "Of course I know you, Inuyasha. And of course, you know me. Though not quite as I am now."

She ripped her hood off. His eyes widened. _It can't be_

But it was, there was no mistaking it. The aura of _youki_ was there, surrounding her, and her hair was silver-white, like his, instead of the jet-black that he knew and loved. And her eyes were red bright, burning red.

But it was her. Impossible as it was.

She smiled, "I've missed you so, Inuyasha."

He stared, "K"

She reached out, her hand caressing his face now contorted both with pain and confusion, "You finally realise. That's good. For as much as I wish to stay around and relish this moment, I fear I do not have the time. Someone will be here soon to rescue you, even if he forgets one very important thing"

" that I know what he knows. And that I don't intend to lose."

For a moment, she leaned close, her lips brushing against his. She whispered, softly.

"My dear Inuyasha we shall meet again."

Pushing herself away, the woman floated up, tendrils of wind catching her cloak as she soared into the sky. Through eyes that were slowly becoming hazy, the hanyou watched helplessly as she soared away, as she performed a series of gestures that culminated in a bright ball of azure blue light, expanding to envelope the entire room as she disappeared into the night.

The hanyou fell to the ground, the arrow that held him to the wall disappearing with its creator. But all was not well. The wailing had resumed.

Inuyasha struggled to stand, his hand already reclaiming his lost sword.

His weakened body refused to obey, instead collapsing to the ground. All around, the wailing once-humans surrounded him. Everything was becoming hazy again.

"_Hijin tessou_!"

The sound of his own voice, strong and clear, shocked the hanyou back into semi-consciousness.

_Hijin tessou?_

There was no time for the hanyou to think, however, as claws of white energy ripped hard into the woman's slaves, obliterating them in an instant. In the distance, he could make out the vague form of two people, the shorter one now running to him, crouching over him, her entire self the epitome of concern and fear. He watched as the taller one caught up with the girl, reaching down and picking up his broken form effortlessly.

He looked off into the distance silently, looking to where the woman had disappeared.

_It couldn't possibly be_

_Was that really you_

_K_

_ Kagome?_

TO BE CONTINUED

_Author's Note - I needed to do something to differentiate "future" Inuyasha from "present-day" Inuyasha, hence the different garb and the "new" attack that the future Inuyasha uses. Here, I explain the new attack. ^_^ Essentially, what I did was study the kanji used for 'sankon tessou' and 'hijin tessou', and with my semi-decent knowledge of Chinese, I managed to work out which part means what - i.e. that 'sankon' is the 'soul-scattering' bit and 'tessou' is the 'iron claw' bit, while hijin means 'flying blades' and kessou is 'blood claws'. So, instead of having to play around too much with new kanji, I simply combined the two to make 'hijin tessou' - 'flying blade iron claw' or something like that - one of future Inuyasha's new attacks. Reasons for this will become clear shortly. ^_^_


	3. A Tale of Two Hanyous Chapter Three

**A Tale of Two Hanyous - Chapter Three of an Inuyasha fanfiction based on the anime  
By Sandrock (sandrock@sandrockproductions.com)**

**Legal Disclaimer  
Inuyasha do be the property of one Rumiko Takahashi**

**Content Guideline: PG-13, violence, mild and implied sexual situations**  


Glossary of Japanese terms 

inu no niichan - literally, 'dog elder brother'.  
hanyou - this is what Inuyasha is ^_^  
ne-chan - older sister (in other context, it can also mean 'Miss')  
kimono - dressing-gown type clothes with wide sleeves  
youkai - Japanese fairy creature/demon  
shikon no tama - Jewel of Four Souls  
jii-chan - grandfather  
masaka - "impossible", an expression of unbelief  
ramen - Chinese style Japanese noodles; Inu-chan's favourite. ^_^  
Tessaiga - correct spelling for Inuyasha's sword  
kitsune - fox youkai  
houshi - Buddhist monk/priest  
miko - Shinto priestess/shrine maiden  
yokatta - an expression of relief  
buji katta na - "you're all right"

* * *

_Be free, Inuyasha_

The words, soft and quiet as the wind and spoken in his dreams, shocked the hanyou back into consciousness, startling him with an understated ferocity that had been completely unexpected.

For a moment, he blinked, his eyes still hazy as sleep reluctantly released its firm grip on his body. One tentative arm reached up, wiping perspiration off his brow.

_Where am I?_

"Are you alright, um _inu no niichan_?"

The unassuming, prepubescent voice that had been so familiar all those years ago pierced through the haze, anchoring him firmly back into reality. He stretched a little, sitting up on the futon that had been laid out for him in the Higurashis' television room. He looked at the young boy who was staring back at him with more than a little concern.

He flashed a small grin, reaching out with one hand to pat the boy on the head, "Yeah thanks, Souta. I'm okay. Just a little tired from last night."

Kagome's younger brother nodded in relief, proffering the can of green tea he'd been holding to the hanyou, "Here, for you."

Taking it, Inuyasha nodded his thanks, watching as the younger boy sat down in front of him, his face unusually thoughtful. The hanyou smirked.

"Is something wrong, Souta?"

The younger boy paused.

"_Inu no nichan_, what happened last night? Why was _ne-chan_ crying? Why why are there two of you now?"

The hanyou's ears twitched in amusement as he looked down at the other boy. Finishing the green tea, he stood up, patting Souta on the head again and tousling his hair, "It's it's a long story, Souta, but don't worry. Your sister's fine, and I'm here to make sure nothing else happens to her."

"Nothing's gonna happen to her."

* * *

The reassuring sounds of morning dawning upon Tokyo stirred the girl from restless sleep. For a moment, panic gripped her - a rush of uncertainty as she struggled to recall the events of the night before. When everything came rushing back in a flood, she paused, remembering that all was not lost. They had, after all, escaped.

It had been difficult though. She hadn't been strong enough to carry Inuyasha- the _hanyou_ certainly was heavier than his slim frame let on - and she hadn't any weapons with her. That had left everything up to to the other Inuyasha, and fending off a seemingly relentless horde of undead creatures while trying to carry an unconscious dog-eared demon wasn't the easiest of tasks, even for one of Inuyasha's calibre.

She looked down at the unconscious form sharing the bed with her, silver-white hair resting gently on her lap, his stricken body clad in a spare _kimono_ her mother had found in the storage room for him while his usual garb, bloodied from his fight, presumably spun merrily in the washing machine out back.

Gingerly, she pried open the folds of the _kimono_, exposing pristine, unblemished skin scarred only by the battle wounds from the night before. What she saw provided some measure of relief from the worry caused by his inability to regain consciousness - in typical hanyou fashion, his wounds were already closing - the ones in his chest caused by the gunfire almost completely healed, though the larger wound in his shoulder still seemed a little raw.

Covering him up again, her hands instinctively went to his head, cradling it protectively. She ran her fingers through his hair, stroking silver-white locks and furry, snow-coloured ears.

No response. 

She looked down. Her eyes closed.

_Please wake up, Inuyasha. Wake up soon._

_Please._

The sound of her door opening broke her train of thought, and she looked up, all hint of despair stripped from her face as she masked her concern with what she hoped was firm confidence. _No need to let Mama or Souta see me worry._

Her attempted bravado, however, flew out the window once she saw the familiar figure walk through the door, still clad in the t-shirt and jeans from the night before. She stood up gently, carefully resting the other Inuyasha's head against the pillow.

He smiled at her, folding his arms as he walked into the room, "Good morning. Hope you managed to get at least a little sleep."

Kagome nodded slightly, "A little. You know I never sleep well when when you're injured."

The _hanyou_'s smile widened, "I've said it countless times, Kagome I'm tougher than that, and you know it. It'll take more than a few little cuts like that to get to me."

Placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, he looked her in the eye, brilliant gold meeting light brown, "Besides I'm here, aren't I? That means I lived through -that-." 

The girl nodded, looking away.

"I know that but but it doesn't change the fact that he you still haven't woken up."

Silence.

Without warning, the _hanyou_ reached out. Powerful arms enveloped the smaller frame of the girl in front of him, pulling her close and claiming her firmly with a hug that said more than any number of words. One hand came to rest behind her head, caressing her smooth, black hair.

For a moment, they remained so, the girl frozen as she struggled mentally with the unexpected physical proximity.

He was the first to break the silence, whispering softly, "I I never thanked you, you know. For all the times you worried about me. For all the kindness you showed."

Releasing her from his grasp, he shrugged uncomfortably, "Guess it's true that you never really appreciate something until you've lost it."

Stunned, the girl remained speechless. _Why why does he keep saying things like that? What really happened? What's what's -going- to happen?_

Searching for the answer, she began to ask, and then stopped herself as he pressed something into her hand. She looked down.

The _shikon_ shards he'd taken from her. And a key.

When Kagome looked back up, he was already at the door, his back to her. He spoke softly.   
"I have an apartment about five blocks away from where your school is I usually stay there when I'm in Tokyo."

He paused, as though uncertain.

"The address is attached to the key. Drop by after your classes today. I'll explain everything then."

Silently, she watched him go.

* * *

_"Kagome, stop worrying so much. I have jii-chan in the room watching him and making sure he's alright though if half the things you tell me about him are true, you really should be more worried about your grandfather than your dog friend."_

The girl sighed quietly, gripping the receiver more firmly, "Yes, mama."

_"But if you're really that concerned about leaving him alone, you'd better come straight back after school. I have to take your grandfather into town to get a new pair of reading glasses, and Souta has soccer practice today."_

Kagome nodded, more to herself than to anyone, "Okay, mama. See you later."

Slowly, she returned the payphone handset back to its cradle, leaning against the wall, trying to compose herself. All around, typical middle-school lunch hour commotion reverberated throughout the corridors, a chaotic barrage of sound and motion.

_I I never thanked you, you know. For all the times you worried about me. For all the kindness you showed._

Normally, she would go look for Ayumi-chan and the rest, eager to catch up on the latest school gossip and just generally happy to be back in the modern era. She could see them just up ahead, huddling in a corner, whispering and giggling.

_Guess it's true that you never really appreciate something until you've lost it._

She turned away.

* * *

The soft green grass beneath her provided little solace. As she leaned back against the old tree nestled inconspicuously in one of the more remote corners of the schoolyard, Higurashi Kagome willed herself to calm down.

It didn't work.   
  
This sort of thing wasn't supposed to happen here. There weren't supposed to be _youkai_ rampaging around this world, and there certainly weren't supposed to be undead human creatures. 

And Inuyasha.

_How old is he now? Why does he look like he hasn't aged at all?_

"Higurashi."

The sudden appearance of an unexpected voice startled the girl, causing her to jump slightly. She looked up.

"Oh it's you, Houjou-kun. You you startled me."

The boy smiled sheepishly, running a hand through chestnut-brown hair, "I'm sorry, Higurashi. It's just that I was watching you in the corridor just now while you were on the phone and you seemed worried about something. So, I followed you. May I?"

Kagome nodded. He sat down, next to her. Their eyes met.

"Higurashi, are you eating well?"

She stifled a small laugh, channelling it into a big smile, "Yes, Houjou-kun. I'm eating just fine. But it's nice to know that you're so concerned."

The boy blushed visibly, "Ah well, it's just that you've been ill so much, and it's been going on for so long now you really must watch your health--"

He rambled on in typical fashion, suggesting a list of medicinal remedies that he felt would be good for her, almost losing himself in his monologue. She looked away, her smile fading, yet still visible.

_He really is a sweet guy. I'll really have to get around to repaying him for all the times I stood him up_

Her mind froze. Beneath the constant droning of Houjou reciting his litany of medicinal herbs, she heard it, the one thing she never wanted to hear again. Abruptly, she stood up, her eyes already scanning her surroundings, trying to locate what she knew was most certainly be watching her.

"Houjou-kun, I think you'd better leave."

The boy was immediately at her side, "What's wrong? Was it something I said?"

Kagome shook her head vehemently, still scanning the horizon, "No no, it's not that. Really. But you really must go, Houjou-kun. Now. It's not safe."

"But"

The pair of creatures dropped down, landing less than two metres away, their high-pitched wail now clearly audible. Kagome's eyes widened.

Instantly, the boy was in front of her, blocking her from the creatures with his larger frame. She looked up at him.

"Houjou-kun"

He glanced back, offering her an uncertain grin. There was an air of confidence about him, though she could see his hands quivering, just ever so slightly, "It's okay, Higurashi. Whatever they want I'm here."

Turning back to face the advancing creatures, he called out, trying his best to sound authoritative, "Who are you? What are you doing here? You're not allowed to-"

He never managed to complete his sentence. The closer once-human raised an arm, lashing out at the boy and sending him flying back, crashing into Kagome. Both collapsed to the ground, the boy already unconscious before he landed.

"Houjou-kun!"

Her heart raced wildly. Shaking the boy's insensate form, she watched helplessly as he refused to respond, a dark ugly bruise already forming where the creature had struck him. She looked up at them.

_I have to get away. I have to lead them away from him._

Struggling to push the boy off her without hurting him further, she tried to stand, only to collapse back down as shooting pain lanced through her left leg. Looking down, she stifled a gasp. 

Blood. Her blood, seeping out of the wound on her leg and coating the sharp, unseen rock she had unexpectedly landed on.

_Damn._

Struggling with the pain, she picked herself up, managing to crawl slowly, edging away from the creatures, once again advancing towards her. Cursing silently, she looked around, hoping against hope that someone else happened to be around and could raise the alarm.

The place was deserted.

_Damn. From now on, I'm carrying arrows -wherever- I go._

The first creature was right on top of her. It reached down, bending down with one hand ready to clamp down hard on the girl.

She reacted. Lunging out, she grabbed at the rock responsible for her predicament. Heaving with every ounce of effort within her, she lifted the moderate-sized stone and slugged the creature across the face as hard as she could.

The creature fell to the ground.

And got up again. She stared incredulously.

_Masaka  
  
_It was then that she remembered, with sickening clarity, that just the night before, she'd seen one of those creatures shrug off one of Inuyasha's punches, even if the silver-haired hanyou had ripped it to shreds moments later. If it could resist a direct blow from someone with as much strength as Inuyasha, then her smacking it with a rock wasn't likely to do much good.  
  
_Damn._

Again, the creature reached out. The second one, now having caught up with the first, did the same.

And both suddenly stiffened, as they were yanked unceremoniously two feet off the ground. Kagome's eyes widened, trying to look behind the two aggressors.

The sickly sound of bone being crushed filled the air. Her eyes narrowed.

He was standing there, still in his t-shirt and jeans ensemble, each of his hands clamped firmly on the necks of the now-truly-lifeless once-humans. Black waist-length hair, tied up in a braid, graced his back, and deep purple eyes glanced her over, scanning for injury. He frowned as his gaze came to rest on her injured leg. Dropping the two lifeless forms, he was immediately at her side, assessing the wound. He spoke.

"I was a couple of blocks away shopping for groceries when I caught wind of the scent of your blood. Naturally, I raced over as soon as I could. Seems like it's a good thing I did."

He eyed her, a silly grin on his face, jerking a finger at the two once-humans, "You lied to me. You told me you fell down in school and hurt your leg. You never mentioned -them-."

She found her voice, " Inuyasha?"

He blinked, still smiling, "Let me guess - you're going to ask me if I'm human, right?"

Kagome continued to stare at him.

Scooping her up in one fluid motion, Inuyasha stood, glancing over at where Houjou lay, "Well, it's gonna have to wait. Let's get you back to my place and I'll do something about that wound of yours. Besides, he's about to wake up, and I really don't think I want to be here to answer any uncomfortable questions when he does."

* * *

He placed her down on the sofa, muttering something about hoping that he still had a medical kit lying around the place as he disappeared around the corner. 

Watching him go, the girl turned back, assessing the room she was in even while shifting slightly to avoid getting blood on Inuyasha's furniture. Her gaze panned across the room.

Despite the pain throbbing in her leg, she found it hard to suppress a smile. It was a modest apartment, sparsely furnished and more than a little unkempt. A fine layer of dust coated just about everything in the room, and a stack of old newspapers balanced precariously on the coffee table. A small heap of unwashed clothes piled up in one corner of the living room, and the overall look of the place was perfectly accentuated by the occasional spent cup of instant _ramen_ strewn across the floor.

Kagome smirked. _Some things just don't change._

Sudden motion immediately in front of her caught her attention. Turning back abruptly, she came face-to-face with a pair of familiar dog-like ears, twitching ever so slightly as they sat mounted atop the bed of silver-white hair crowning the head of a hanyou now crouching in front of her and rummaging furiously through a box of medical supplies. She frowned.

_And now he's back to normal?_

Unable to stop herself, she reached out, flicking one ear with her fingers, causing Inuyasha to jump slightly, his head jerking up to stare at her. He raised an eyebrow.

And, all of a sudden, his form shifted. The ears vanished, his hair turning jet-black. His eyes shimmered, now stunning violet instead of pure amber. And even before she could react to the sudden change, he transformed again, once more taking on the familiar white-and-gold combination she had grown so used to.

Gazing at the shock in her face, he grinned, continuing his search within the box for something with which to treat her wound.

"It's something I managed to teach myself over the centuries - an illusion. You have to admit though, it's easier to go around looking like that than to have to keep on wearing a cap. Besides, it's a good way to remind myself of how I used to be, especially since I can't become human at the new moon anymore"

He trailed off abruptly, realising he'd said too much, too fast.

Kagome paused, "You you're not half-human, anymore?"

He looked up at her, dragging out some antibiotic cream and bandages, shaking his head.

"It's not that. I'm still _hanyou_. It's just"

He stopped, looking down.

"No, I can't. It won't make sense like that."

The _hanyou_ glanced up at her, golden eyes hinting at deep-seated emotion struggling to come to the fore, "You have to know everything from the beginning. Even even if it's going to be hard to accept."

He looked away.

"It it all began at the last battle."

* * *

_All around, the air was thick with the scent of blood and destruction. But even through the carnage and gore, one thing was clear. They had won._

_Inuyasha crouched down, leaning hard on Tessaiga as he breathed heavily. Pain from the wounds that were the legacy of the battle against Naraku coursed throughout his body, yet the hanyou's grin could not have been wider._

_Spotting Miroku on the periphery of his vision, the hanyou turned, elation in his voice as he spoke, congratulating the monk on a battle well fought. But it was the grim expression on the other's face that sent the first threads of doubt weaving through him._

_He called out again, "Miroku what's wrong? Are you hurt?"_

_The monk, his dark robes bloodied and torn, paused for a moment, as though collecting himself, then spoke, his voice wavering ever so slightly, "No, I'm I'm fine. It's-"_

_Their eyes met. Miroku paused, unable to continue. The prayer beads around his hand, now no longer serving their purpose, fell to the ground. He tried to speak again._

_"Inuyasha it's"_

_Now more than worried, the hanyou took a step towards the monk, until a sound in the distance gripped him and refused to let go._

_Shippou was sobbing._

_Swiftly turning to face the kitsune's direction, his entire body froze as his eyes immediately picked out the despairing young fox and the fallen form that was without a doubt the object of his distress._

_Horror gripped the hanyou._

_With a howl that spoke of rage and grief, Inuyasha dropped Tessaiga, breaking into a sprint, instantly at the side of the one whom he'd been too afraid to admit he loved, the one who now lay dying before him with wounds beyond severe - numerous gashes scarred her face, and her clothes lay in shreds, while blood flowed copiously out of the massive wound marring what was left of her abdomen._

_Scooping her up gently, he crouched down, not knowing what else to do. He called her name, repeatedly, her refusal to respond bolstering his efforts, as fear and helplessness crept into his voice._

Kagome please please wake up.

_Miroku was at his side now, carrying the still-sobbing Shippou and explaining how it had happened. He barely heard a word. He reached out, stroking deep-black hair now drenched in blood._

_And she opened her eyes. Looking up at the hanyou, she stared at him for a moment, her face wracked with pain. Tears welled in her eyes. Her mouth opened._

_"I..nu"_

_A fit of coughing drowned out her attempt to speak. The hanyou held her close, blinking back tears of his own, forced to watch the greatest of his nightmares unfold before his eyes._

_As the coughs subsided, she opened her eyes again. This time, she raised an arm, reaching up towards his face with a trembling hand. He watched her, uncertain._

_She grabbed hold of something. He looked._

_The prayer beads around his neck._

_Staring back down at her as she lay cradled in his arms, his eyes were questioning, pleading. She gazed back, her eyes half-closed. She managed a weak smile._

_"B be free, Inuyasha lo"_

_Her hand dropped to her side, snapping the beads off his neck. Her eyes closed._

_The hanyou threw back his head, roaring with pure, unbridled sorrow, tears openly streaming down his face as he mourned the loss of all he had cherished._

_But his grief was momentary. For a moment, something seemed to strike him as his roar subsided. Gently placing her back on the ground, he leapt into the air, landing accurately where the remains of what was once Naraku now lay. In one swift motion, he scooped up the now-whole shikon no tama, the ball of pure energy pulsating a dark malevolent red, racing back to where Kagome lay._

_Grabbing her hand, he placed the shikon no tama firmly into her palm, wrapping her fingers around the orb. He brought her other hand up to join the first, before clasping his own around hers. He closed his eyes._

_And spoke, his voice laced with urgency and determination. He called out to her, calling her name, urging her to listen to him. He poured out everything to her, begging her not to leave, pleading with her to live again. _

_"Use it, Kagome. Use it to save yourself. I don't want it anymore I don't want to be youkai not if it means being being without you. Use it please."_

_The _shikon no tama_ shattered, flashing a bright, blinding red, enveloping both hanyou and human._

_The light subsided. The hanyou opened his eyes._

_And recoiled in shock._

_The one he knew as Kagome lay before him. But she was no longer herself. The wounds that had scarred her body were gone, completely, as were her clothes. She lay before him, immaculate, her eyes closed, hair as silver-white as his now gracing her shoulders._

_Unsure of what to make of it, the hanyou reached out. Before he could touch her, her eyes flashed open, and Inuyasha stared, speechless._

_The familiar dark brown orbs he had known and loved were gone, replaced by eyes as red and malevolent as the _shikon no tama_._

* * *

Silently, Higurashi Kagome looked down, staring at the bandage now gracing her leg. She spoke, her voice soft, laced with a hint of disbelief.

"I became a _youkai_?"

The dog-eared _hanyou_ paused, then nodded, "Not _youkai. Hanyou_, and not an ordinary one at that."

He looked away, "I I later discovered that it was a fatal error on my part. In my desire to save you, I I acted without thinking. I forgot that most of the _shikon no tama_ had been in Naraku's possession for so long that it had become tainted beyond measure. In the condition you were in, you were no match for the evil energy contained within, and while it healed you, it also corrupted you. It it perverted you because, in your condition, you were the easier target...."

He finished, "it was all my fault."

She frowned, "What do you mean, 'easier target'?"

He nodded, "It took me a while to realise, but I did - you weren't the only one transformed by the _shikon_ jewel. After you transformed, you started attacking me, and while avoiding your attacks, I realised that the wounds from the previous battle had healed, faster than they usually do. I was moving faster too, much faster than I used to be able to, and I I just felt stronger."

The hanyou stood up, packing away the medical kit, "The battle continued for a while, locked in a stalemate. It was only after the battle had ended and you had escaped that I realised that Tessaiga had shattered somewhere along the way. Fearing the worst, I told Miroku and Sango to put as much distance as they could between themselves and me."

He looked at her.

"And I waited, waited for the madness to overwhelm me. It never came. Months passed. I never became human. Years went by. I didn't age."

Closing the latch on the medical kit, he dumped it on the coffee table, moving to sit next to her on the couch.

"It soon began to make sense. When it first happened, I thought that your attacks had somehow shattered Tessaiga. But with all the weird things that were happening to me, I realised that the _shikon no tama_ must've done something to my_ youkai_ blood - something that allowed me to remain _hanyou_ without turning human at the new moon and stopping my father's blood from claiming my body. That same something was keeping me alive, and worst of all, had bonded me to you... her."

"The tales of a powerful _hanyou_ rampaging throughout the lands were rampant. It was said no _youkai_ stood a chance against this creature, for she was said to be a blending of raw _youkai_ power and the holy power of the _miko_. None had ever seen anything like her. All _youkai_ that stood against her died, their energy absorbed by her. The _houshi_s and _miko_s that tried to take her on met with untimely deaths, for nothing seemed to work against her."

"But I didn't need the tales to know. I could feel her presence when she was close by. I knew what she what you were doing."

"After a while, I knew I had to do something."

The _hanyou_ smiled weakly, "And so I did, tracking her down across the globe. For five centuries I've chased her, hoping to be able to do something to correct the greatest mistake I'd ever made. When I discovered that that she had returned to Tokyo, I came back, and realised that you were around. Through the centuries, her powers have grown, from all the _youkai_ power she's absorbed, and she's been recently successfully in preventing me from sensing her presence. That's why I needed the shikon shards. But it didn't work, and all happened as I remembered it."

His smile faded, his expression wistful, "And that, Kagome, is everything as it happened. I'm I'm sorry you had to had to know."

The girl sat, dumbfounded, the immensity of everything Inuyasha had told her slowly sinking in. A part of her screamed within, refusing to accept what fate had dealt would deal her. But another part of her fixated on the one in front of her, sensing five centuries worth of anguish and loneliness.

Instinctively, she reached out, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders, drawing him into a hug. She spoke.

"It's it's alright, Inuyasha. We'll we'll find a way to make things right. We've always always done so."

For a moment, he stared at her, their eyes locked with each other's. His arms moved to envelop her as hers shifted down to curve around his waist. He leaned forward, ears quivering.

His lips met hers. Her eyes widened. For a moment, she froze, unsure of what to do, even as his kiss became more demanding, more wanting.

And she responded.

For an eternity, they remained so. Then, unexpectedly, he broke away, his eyes smiling as he gazed at her.

"I've I've wanted to do that for so long. I I wish I'd had the courage to do that before that we'd had the chance to be closer."

One hand came up to his neck, grasping at prayer beads that were no longer there. He smiled again, a joyless smile, "I I have my freedom, Kagome but what is it worth, without you with me?"

His words struck deep, and she gazed at him, empathising with he who represented the future of the one she cared for so much.

Summoning up some reserve of courage, she leaned forward, locking lips with the hanyou as she kissed him deeply, invitingly. A low growl escaped from his throat as he responded, his eyes closed as he gently guided her, one arm supporting her weight as she lay back down on the couch, their lips still coupled in sheer bliss.

They remained that way, and Kagome opened her eyes, staring up and losing herself in his strikingly handsome features, surprised at the emotions and sensations that were roiling up within her, surprised at just how much and how long she'd been wanting this.

_She looked down at the unconscious form sharing the bed with her, silver-white hair resting gently on her lap, his stricken body clad in a spare _kimono_ her mother had found in the storage room for him._

Sudden realisation struck her. She tried to break the kiss, tried to speak, to tell him that this wasn't right. But he was too insistent, too strong, his lips hungrily claiming hers and refusing to break contact, his arms pinning her down to the sofa as he towered over her.

She struggled, even while knowing the futility of her struggles, trying to get his attention, trying to get him to stop before things went beyond their control. He didn't seem to notice. She pushed at him, trying to shove him off. He didn't even budge.

Through the kiss, she screamed for him to stop.

His eyes shot open. He leapt off the couch, his entire body shivering as the realisation of everything that had occurred in the past few minutes hit home. He looked at her, the shock apparent, knowing that he had very nearly hurt her.

Instantly, he was at her side, crouching down, and grasping her hands in his, "I I... Kagome, I'm sorry I don't know I don't know what came over me. I'm"

She shook her head, her body trembling, "It's it's all right, Inuyasha. I was as much at fault as you."

_She looked down at the unconscious form sharing the bed with her, silver-white hair resting gently on her lap._

When she looked up, he was standing a short distance away, purposely not looking at her. 

She stood up.

"I guess I'd better get going. Mama told me she needed to go out, and that means you're probably alone at my place right about now. I'll I'll see you later, right?"

He turned around, a small smile already on his face, "Yeah I'll see you later."

She nodded. He watched her leave. Alone.

* * *

The water felt warm as it struck bare skin, running down her sleek, well-toned body in rivulets as Kagome cleansed herself from the grime and dirt of the day's activities. True to her word, Mama hadn't been at home when she got back, and a quick check in her room showed a still-unconscious Inuyasha, so she'd figured a shower scored high on her list of priorities.

She stood there, motionless, letting the water soak into her skin as it splashed all around. Subconsciously, her hand came up to her face, touching her lips.

_His lips met hers. Her eyes widened. For a moment, she froze, unsure of what to do, even as his kiss became more demanding, more wanting. And she responded._

She closed her eyes, angling her face up to let the water splatter across her cheeks. 

_She leaned forward, locking lips with the hanyou as she kissed him deeply, invitingly._

She sighed.

That was when she heard him scream her name.

Alarmed, she turned off the shower, grabbing her towel and wrapping it hastily around herself even as she raced out into the corridor. Bounding up the stairs, she flung open the door to her room, only to come face to face with her _kimono_-clad hanyou, his face bearing the fearful look of one who looked like he'd lived through hell. 

He stared at her momentarily, then, as though realising who she was, dashed over and picked her up in his arms, crushing her to him, holding her like he'd rarely ever done before. He held her close, burying her head protectively into his shoulder. 

He whispered softly, his eyes closing, "_Yokatta buji katta na_. I I thought something awful had happened to you. I thought I'd I'd lost you." 

Realising what he'd just said, he set her down, blushing furiously, as he usually did when he came across a need to express emotion and concern that he couldn't simply sweep aside and ignore.

She remained silent, now knowing what he had seen.

Knowing what she was destined to become.

Knowing that they could never be together, not as she'd often envisioned it.

_"I've I've wanted to do that for so long. I I wish I'd had the courage to do that before that we'd had the chance to be closer."_

_"I I have my freedom, Kagome but what is it worth, without you with me?"_

For the second time that day, she leaned forward, kissing the hanyou deeply, nudging him slowly towards the bed.

Momentarily, the hanyou's eyes widened at the unexpected attention. But he did not object, letting her lead him to whatever lay before them. 

Ecstasy.

* * *

Beyond the door to her room, the hanyou stood, his ears twitching as he tried his best not to listen. A frown creased his forehead, his mind working furiously. A tinge of worry crept down his spine.

_This isn't right._

_That that never happened. I'm sure of it._

He looked away, walking down the stairs.

_What's going on?_

TO BE CONTINUED

_Author's Note: And there we have Chapter Three! Now, doesn't the title of the series make a lot more sense? Bet you all thought I was referring to the two Inuyashas, right? ^_^; Thoughts and comments most appreciated - tell me what you liked, didn't like, absolutely hated, etc. It really does help in planning new chapters ^_^ - SR_


	4. A Tale of Two Hanyous Chapter Four

**A Tale of Two Hanyous - Chapter Four of an Inuyasha fanfiction based on the anime  
By Sandrock (sandrock@sandrockproductions.com)**

**Legal Disclaimer  
Inuyasha do be the property of one Rumiko Takahashi**

**Content Guideline: PG-13, violence, sexual dialogue  
  
_-edited 9th May 2003 with minor changes to apartment scene near end of chapter-_ **

Glossary of Japanese terms 

inu no niichan - literally, 'dog elder brother'.  
hanyou - this is what Inuyasha is ^_^  
ne-chan - older sister (in other context, it can also mean 'Miss')  
youkai - Japanese fairy creature/demon  
shikon no tama - Jewel of Four Souls  
jii-chan - grandfather  
ramen - Chinese style Japanese noodles; Inu-chan's favourite. ^_^  
Tessaiga - correct spelling for Inuyasha's sword  
houshi - Buddhist monk/priest  
miko - Shinto priestess/shrine maiden  
wakatta - "I understand."  
yukata - a robe similar to the kimono made of cotton for home use  
youki - youkai energy

* * *

She awoke to the sound of crickets chirping. 

All around, her room lay shrouded in twilight, the lone table lamp perched beside her bed doing little to dispel the darkness. For a moment, she remained so, allowing herself a period of calm to shrug off the haze of sleep, and for the events of the past day to again firmly entrench themselves in her mind. 

She turned slightly, angling herself to take in the sight of the hanyou who now shared her bed, absorbing with her eyes every inch of the firm, muscular body he had laid bare before her. His face was radiant with a child-like innocence he could not afford to show in his waking moments, his chest rising and falling as he slept, his entire self framed by silken, silver-white hair that was heavenly to the touch - save for one sculpted, powerful arm that reached across what little space divided them to protectively cradle her equally exposed form.

She closed her eyes, allowing herself to dwell on this one, perfect moment, allowing herself to wish for what she now knew to be the impossible.

Mentally, she shook her head. Her future had already been decided, decided the moment they had chosen to fight Naraku. 

For the greater good, sacrifices had to be made. Naraku had to be defeated, even if the sacrifice needed to accomplish it was her.

Again, she opened her eyes, gazing on the face of a sleeping hanyou. Her thoughts returned to the intimate moments they had shared just hours ago, returning to the moment she had declared her love to him.

And to the moment he had reciprocated, the moment that had left her shocked and overjoyed beyond all expectation.

But the problem still remained.

_How will I tell him? How can I tell him that I want to be with him forever; that I want to love him, and him to love me until the day we die but that it cannot be so?_

The very thought was enough to push her to the brink of tears, but her resolve held firm. 

_No. There must be something that can be done. There has to be._

She paused.

_I need a shower._

Gingerly, she started to lift his arm, trying to get up while moving as little as possible so as not to wake him, but her efforts had the opposite effect, rousing him just enough for him to murmur slightly and tighten his grip into a firmer hug, before falling back into sound sleep. 

Now unable to move, the girl sighed. Craning her head to look at the door and the lights beyond, she caught sight of her alarm clock on her desk - an exact replica of the one her hanyou had destroyed accidentally ages ago - it was already 7pm, which meant that her family was probably already back. For a fleeting moment, she hoped that Souta, Mama or jii-chan wouldn't decide to come in right then and check on her. She found herself suppressing a small smile, imagining how she could possibly explain the situation.

Not that she could do anything about it right now.

Laying her head back down on the pillow, she again found herself gazing at him, inhaling his scent, resisting the urge to lean forward and kiss him, and watching with amusement as his furry, silver-white ears twitched as he slept. Smiling slightly to herself again, she twisted gently, somehow managing to get one slim, well-toned arm free from his grasp. Then, acting on instinct that had served her well over the years, she reached up with the free hand to stroke his right ear, watching as the ear in question reacted, first by flattening out against his head, then by quivering ever so slightly at her touch.

So preoccupied was she with lavishing attention on his ear that she didn't notice his eyes opening, the shimmering amber of his irises glowing in the darkness of her room as his gaze focused upon her.

"You realise that if you keep on doing that just a little longer we won't be done before morning"

Startled, the girl looked down at him. The hanyou had a silly smirk on his face as he propped himself up with one hand, his other arm still wrapped around her.

"not that I'd complain, of course."

The unexpected cheerfulness of his demeanour was like a balm to the troubles that concerned her, and the smile that lit up her face at seeing him awake and obviously in good spirits was genuine beyond all measure.

Leaning forward, the hand that had been busying itself with his ear came down to lie on his chest as she brought her lips to his cheek in a light kiss. As they parted, she spoke softly.

"I'm glad you're feeling better."

His eyes met hers as he replied.

"What about you?"

She smiled at him again, her hand reaching up to stroke the face she had just caressed with her lips.

"I couldn't be better what happened today was more than I'd ever hoped to be possible."

At that, Inuyasha blushed slightly, breaking eye contact as he looked away. 

She sighed. _Guess some things take time to change._ Pushing his arm aside, she got off from the bed, walking over to her wardrobe and fishing out a plain, cotton bathrobe that she quickly shrugged on. Turning around to face him, she watched as the hanyou sat up, looking back at her, the quilt covering him from waist down.

She finished tying the bathrobe around her waist before gesturing at her table, "There are some clothes for you over there I don't think your stuff's dry just yet so that'll have to do for now."

"Why, Kagome?"

The unexpectedness of his question struck the girl hard, and she froze, momentarily unable to answer. She looked away.

"Why what?"

The silver-haired hanyou frowned slightly. Silently, he stood up, casting aside the quilt and crossing the distance between them in quick purposeful strides. Reaching out, he drew her close to him, embracing her in his arms again. Resting her head on his shoulder, he asked again.

"Why did you do it, Kagome? What what made you decide to to offer um"

Inuyasha trailed off, clearly not too comfortable with what he had to say, yet unable to not ask. The girl paused, closing her eyes as she buried her face deep into his shoulder, asking herself the very question her hanyou had just given voice to.

_Because because there's no more time._

Looking up at him, she willed herself to smile.

"Because it was time, Inuyasha."

The hanyou blinked, his eyes again narrowing into a frown that hinted of concern and worry. He opened his mouth, as though about to ask something else, but caught himself at the last moment. He returned the smile.

She turned away, "I'm going to take a shower now. We can go down for dinner after that."

The smile turned into a grin, "A shower huh? That sounds like it can be fun."

Kagome stared incredulously at the one holding her, his intent obvious from the way he gazed at her. She shook her head, the smile still plastered on her face.

"Inuyasha you can't be serious. Do you know how exhausting today has been for me? After after that, and all the running around I did today?"

She gave him a mock-evil glare, "Some of us don't have the stamina of a hanyou, y'know." 

The grin on his face refused to subside, "That's a pity now, isn't it?"

The girl froze.

"I I really need to go take a shower now, Inuyasha."

For one, long moment, the hanyou stared at her. Then, moving his hands up to rest on her shoulders, he leaned forward, his lips touching her forehead.

"Okay."

*****

The silver-haired hanyou watched as the door closed behind the one he had finally admitted his love to.

_Yeah, like she heard you and your half-assed attempts at telling her what you've wanted to say for so long._

He sighed, turning around to pick up the plain cotton _yukata_ she'd left for him on the table, staring at it for a moment as he held it in his hands.

Something wasn't quite right about her. Sure, she'd given him what he'd desired for so long, and as far as he could tell, she had wanted it as much as he did. She had admitted her love for him - like that had been a big secret - and he had reciprocated sort of.

But something was wrong - she was trying too hard to be cheerful, he could sense that, but within her was a sense of uncertainty and a bit of fear about something that he couldn't quite place. And her reaction to his attempt at cheering her up what was with that, anyway?

Something was wrong, and she wasn't telling him. He growled slightly in frustration.

That was when he finally caught wind of the scent.

*****

Closing the door tight behind her, Kagome sighed as she rested her head against the wooden frame that separated her from Inuyasha.

_Some of us don't have the stamina of a hanyou, y'know._

_That's a pity now, isn't it?_

She closed her eyes.

_He didn't mean it. He doesn't know._

"I was beginning to wonder if you were ever planning on coming out of there."

Shock coursed through the girl's body as she whipped around, only to come face-to-face with the other Inuyasha, still decked out in the t-shirt and jeans he had been wearing at his apartment when the incident had occurred. The hanyou was sitting quietly in a corner next to her door, out of her immediate line of sight when she had stepped out of the room.

The girl watched as the hanyou stood up, stretching slightly as he did, before turning to face her with a knowing smile emblazoned on his face. She looked away, unable to make eye contact with the one who was so familiar, yet seemingly so far away.

"How long have you been waiting out here?"

The hanyou's smile was telling, "A while. I came over almost immediately after you left my place - I had to drop by your school to pick up your bag and to explain what happened to you and don't worry, I told them I was your cousin."

"I see."

_Then he knows, I guess._

The smile refused to budge, "Besides, someone had to keep away curious younger brothers and stop them from getting the shock of their lives."

The girl looked up at him. Despite his outwardly jovial expression, something wasn't quite right - there was a sense of something else, a hidden inflection in his tone of voice, that spoke more than mere words.

Of envy, perhaps.

"Thank you Inuyasha."

The hanyou nodded, looking away as he walked over to the railing overlooking the staircase leading downstairs. For a moment, silence pervaded the space around them. When he next spoke, however, all trace of mirth had left his voice, replaced by a seriousness this Inuyasha had rarely displayed.

"You realise that something's not quite right, don't you?"

Moving over to join him, the girl frowned, "What do you mean?"

The hanyou shook his head, "Think, Kagome. What did I tell you this morning about us? Haven't you realised that something's not right yet?"

The girl paused, moments before the realisation hit her.

_"I've I've wanted to do that for so long. I I wish I'd had the courage to do that before that we'd had the chance to be closer."_

She found her voice, "How?"

_Why didn't I realise it before?_

He stifled a small laugh, "That was my reaction exactly when I came over in the afternoon and heard everything."

She blushed.

His smile returned as he turned to her again, "No matter. I don't quite understand it, and it's certainly a disturbing discovery, but I'll get to the bottom of it and find out what's happening. That that things are changing might end up working in our favour after all."

Her eyes met his, "I I guess. But I-"

Without warning, the girl found herself interrupted as the door leading to her room flew open, moments before a _yukata_-clad hanyou came bounding out, tensed and ready to fight. Almost instantly, his eyes locked on to the other hanyou standing next to her, and his eyes narrowed, a low, menacing growl already forming in his throat.

"I thought I smelled something familiar. So you're the one who's been leading us around all this time."

He took one slow, purposeful stride closer toward his future self, his hands tense, his claws ready. The younger hanyou grinned.

"Not bad you smell like me, and you look like me too. Care to tell us how you're doing it before I rip you to shreds?"

The other Inuyasha sighed, his face measured with calm. He looked to the girl beside him.

Higurashi Kagome found herself sighing as well. It wasn't going to be easy to explain, but

Crossing the space between them, she reached up, placing a restraining hand on Inuyasha's shoulder, ignoring the surprise that crossed the hanyou's face. Looking up at him, she spoke.

"Inuyasha there's something we need to talk about."

*****

It seemed as though the entire house shook with the force of the blow, alarm rising within the girl as she watched her Inuyasha grab hold of the other hanyou, pick him up and slam him hard against the wall. Sparing a glance down the staircase, she called down, assuring the already inquiring Souta that nothing was wrong and that he should just stay away.

Her hanyou was roaring into the other's face, every fibre of his being screaming out in fury.

"How could you let something like that happen, you bastard?! How could you let her die?! How-"

The other Inuyasha cut him off, his voice as calm as ever, "Do you realise how stupid this is? You're blaming me for something that you're going to have to do."

The _yukata_-clad hanyou glared at the other, the muscles in his arms tensing as he gripped his captive firmly, pushing him harder against the wall, causing small cracks to fan out from the point of impact. He scoffed at the other's words.

"Do you think I'd let something like that happen? Feh! I'm not that dumb! I wouldn't let her die!"

_Never again._

It was at that moment that the girl chose to intervene. Placing a hand on his arm, she pleaded with him softly, "Inuyasha, stop it please."

Not in the least soothed, the hanyou whipped around angrily, yelling at her as he did, "What's wrong with you?! I'm not the one who screwed up this time!"

Glaring back at the other hanyou again, he growled, "I wasn't the one who sat back and let you get killed! I wasn't the one who turned you into some"

Without warning, the older hanyou lashed out with a roar, breaking free from his younger self's grip and slamming him into the floor. Pinning the younger hanyou down, he easily fought off the other's wild struggling, immobilising his arms and legs as he stared him down, his face a contorted mix of pain and anger. A deep growl forming in his throat, he spoke, all trace of the calm that had been his trademark vanishing into the night.

"Do you think I WANTED it to happen?! That I wanted things to turn out this way?! That I wanted to spend five centuries hunting the one thing I loved more than anything else in the world?! Do you, you stupid bas-?!"

"Stop please."

Both hanyous turned. The girl was kneeling on the floor, her head lowered as her silken black hair covered her face.

"Please stop this."

She looked up at them then, tears already forming in her eyes. A drop fell to the floor. Her voice wavered.

"Stop fighting please. I'm I'm the one who's going to die here. I'm the one who's going to turn into into-"

She looked away, her voice catching in her throat, unable to continue.

The older hanyou released the younger, backing off and looking away, even as the younger leapt up, instantly moving to her side and cradling her as he'd done not long before. Silently, he embraced her, letting her sob into his shoulder.

The other looked on.

Silence prevailed for what seemed to be an eternity. Then, the elder hanyou found his voice.

"The the important thing now is to find out what's going on. Maybe maybe there's a chance that things don't have to turn out the way I remember them hell, everything that's happened today sure isn't the same. Maybe we can avert it all."

He stood up, speaking to the still-sobbing girl, "I'm going to go back to my place and get some research going. I'll call when I find out anything. You two should stay here and get some rest in the meantime go to school if you must, but let him tag along just in case. Otherwise just stay at home and call in sick."

Glancing at her one last time, he turned around, heading down the staircase, disappearing from sight.

Cradling each other, the hanyou and human watched him go.

*****

It took a few more minutes, but the girl's sobs soon subsided. Seated outside her door in the hallway, she looked up as her hanyou returned, taking the handkerchief he'd found in her room, smiling her thanks at him. She watched silently as he sat down, silver-white hair flowing gently before settling down.

Impassive, golden eyes gazed at her, watching as she dried the tears from her cheeks.

"Feeling better?"

She nodded, trying to laugh, "Yeah it's just"

One arm came up to wrap around her shoulder, pulling her close to him. Leaning against him, she closed her eyes, basking in the warmth of his body.

"Kagome"

She looked up, warm brown meeting pure amber, "What?"

" is that why you decided to to do it with me?"

For a long moment, she stared at him, as though at a loss for words. Then, slowly, she bit her lip, nodding.

"There there was just so much regret in in the way he was speaking. What he said was everything that I'd ever feared would come true - not that I would die that I would never have the chance to let you know how I really felt. I didn't want to didn't want us to go through with that kind of regret, Inuyasha. I just didn't."

The hanyou smiled, stroking her hair, "You you didn't have to do something like that to tell me how you felt about me, you know."

The girl nodded, "I I know. But"

"It's okay, Kagome. I understand."

Silence ensued. Then, he shook his head, sighing, "I can't believe it though. For a moment there, I thought it was all a bad dream, seeing her like that in the warehouse. I was so sure you were safe, and that everything was all right."

Kagome remained silent, allowing him to speak, knowing what he meant.

He turned to look at her, his face suddenly determined, "But you know what? Everything will be all right. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. Never."

Again, their eyes met. She smiled.

"Thank you, Inuyasha."

*****

"Hey, Kagome"

The girl looked up from the task at hand, squinting slightly as the bright morning sun caught her eye unexpectedly as it shone through the living room windows, "What?"

"What's up with your brother? He's been acting strange today."

She resumed her application of antiseptic lotion to Inuyasha's remaining shoulder wound - though it had mostly closed up the day before and all trace of it would probably be gone within the hour, she wasn't taking any chances. Dabbing it gently, she replied, "Can you blame him? You really freaked him out last night with that little display of yours. I don't think he's ever seen you that furious before and have I mentioned jii-chan's not too pleased about having to fix that wall?"

He looked away, turning red in the face as he put his robes back on, "Well what did you expect me to do, anyway?"

Another uncomfortable silence. Taking advantage of the moment, Kagome started packing up the medical kit.

"What made you think he was telling the truth?"

She looked up, blinking at her companion, "The birthmark inside your right ear. You know, the one I found out quite by accident a few months ago?"

The hanyou's ears twitched, but surprisingly, he said nothing.

For a moment.

"He's very strong."

At that, the girl smirked, "Yeah, I noticed. I don't think I've ever seen you manhandled like that before usually, you're the one doing that sort of stuff."

She paused, "But technically, you -were- the one doing it anyway"

The hanyou glared at her. She smiled.

"You're not fooling me, Inuyasha. I know you've already accepted it inside. You're stubborn, but you're not stupid, no matter what Shippou thinks. Sooner or later, you're going to have to stop making the distinction between him and you. The sooner, the better."

Inuyasha remained quiet. She looked at him for a moment longer, then stood up, picking up the medical kit, "You stay here and rest a bit more I'm going upstairs for a bit, and I'll be down again later at lunchtime, all right?"

The hanyou nodded.

Listening to the door slide shut behind her, he leaned back against the table in the centre of the room.

_Sooner or later, you're going to have to stop making the distinction between him and you. The sooner, the better._

He snorted.

"Feh."

Glancing around the room, he spotted the little black device that Kagome had told him about. Reaching over to grab it, he stared at the gadget and all the little buttons, trying to remember which one did what. He pressed the button he was sure he was supposed to.

Nothing. He pressed it again. Still nothing. He growled.

Realisation struck him.

He pointed it at the big brown box with the glass front that displayed all the strange moving pictures. Again, he pressed the button.

The screen lit up, and the hanyou smiled, leaning back as he lay down on the futon.

*****

Inuyasha yawned.

He'd been switching the moving pictures around for about an hour already, and nothing seemed to be able to catch his interest there was this strange one where a lot of people seemed to be doing nothing but crying, shouting or looking shocked at each other and there was this other one with two huge men grabbing at each other and apparently fighting on top of a big square platform while a lot of other humans cheered them on. Then, there was this odd one where this other human was cooking all kinds of weird foods and another strange-looking one where the people in it didn't look real - they were kind of flat-looking, and they had really big eyes and their lips didn't always move along to what they were saying.

The hanyou sighed. _And Kagome says humans in this world spend hours in front of this box._ He pressed the button on the little black device again, and the moving pictures changed yet again. His ears perked up as the glass screen showed images of the warehouse they had been at the night before. His eyes narrowed as he listened to the disembodied female voice coming out from the box.

"Police investigations into the incident at the warehouses located along Yokosuka Bay two nights ago are currently ongoing. Central Division spokesperson Himori Fujisaka declined to comment in detail, but said that officials have not yet ruled out foul play or malicious intent, though a source within the police department says that no leads have been found as yet. The four security guards on night duty at the warehouse have now been officially declared missing. Meanwhile, investigations into the accident at the same warehouse involving one transport container holding a full shipment of textiles and raw clothing materials are also ongoing. Port authority officials have yet to ascertain how the container, which was stored at ground level, was moved from its holding location, or how it crashed into the warehouse's northern wall, particularly since confirmed computer logs indicate that the transportation machinery in the warehouse had not been activated during that period. Officials are now suspecting that the party responsible for the incident was also able to tamper with the computer records, indicating an inside job, as the mass and weight of the containers, which measure twenty metres by five metres, make them impossible to move without mechanical assistance. The motive for the incident has also yet to be determined, as the contents of the container in question were not considered particularly valuable." 

The hanyou raised his eyebrows. What was with this world, anyway? It was like they needed to know everything that was going on around them, and they seemed to have a particularly bad habit of picking up on things that he'd been doing. Save a little girl from a fire - they talk about it on that box thing. Stop a fleeing bandit - more talk. Bust up a warehouse - and again, it's there.

_Am I really so out of place here?_

Inuyasha sighed, his thoughts returning to his future self as he closed his eyes, shutting off the brown box and dumping the black control device.

_He seemed to be doing well enough._

The sound of the rice-paper door sliding open caught his attention, and he slowly looked up, opening his eyes, watching Kagome walk in carefully bearing a tray laden with

with food that smelled awfully strange.

The hanyou grimaced momentarily as thoughts of that awful "curry" stuff danced through his head, but quickly checked himself. She always reacted badly when he said nasty things about her food and she didn't need that right now. He steeled himself for what was to come, thinking thoughts of _ramen_. 

The girl set the tray down on the table in the centre of the room, sitting down next to it and setting out two plates. She glanced at him as she worked, "How's the wound? Is it still there?"

He shifted over, moving to sit opposite her, shaking his head as he did, "Nope. It closed up a while ago finally." He growled lightly, "Spiritual attacks always take longer to heal."

She stared at him with one of her exasperated looks, "You were shot through the chest by a dozen submachine gun rounds and had your shoulder gouged out by an energy arrow, and you're walking around, watching television less than two days later, completely healed. Count yourself lucky."

The hanyou didn't respond, looking away. Moments later, his lips moved.

"I'm hungry."

The girl blushed, fiddling with her fingers, "Um about that."

Inuyasha eyed her warily, "About what?"

"Well you see, it's Saturday, and we're kinda out of food, and Mama's not back from the supermarket yet, so this was all I could find."

She took the lid off the plate, picking up a weird round thing wrapped in paper and offering it to him. Inuyasha sniffed at it.

Glancing at her with one eye, he proceeded cautiously, "What is it?"

Kagome fidgeted, "A hamburger um, it's just some meat on bread. Souta stopped by Wacdnald's with his friends yesterday and brought a couple back after ordering too much I heated it up in the microwave, so it should be fine. I I know it's not something you're used to, but-"

She found herself interrupted by the hanyou, as he reached out to take the hamburger from her. Ripping off the paper with one well-placed claw, he sniffed at it for a moment, before taking one unhesitant bite, chewing noisily.

The girl smiled. She unwrapped her own.

The phone rang. Dumping the burger, she scrambled up to grab the cordless sitting on top of the television.

"Hello? Oh hi. Yeah yeah. What, now? But Mama and jii-chan aren't around and Souta okay. All right, we'll be over right after lunch. Okay. Bye."

Kagome switched off the phone, turning to look at the hanyou who had already worked his way through half his burger. She said the obvious.

"It's the other you. He says he's made some discoveries, and wants us to go over as soon as we can."

She sat down again, silently. Her food stared up at her.

*****

Higurashi Kagome found herself gazing aimlessly down the road as they made their way over to the elder Inuyasha's apartment. It was a quiet, rather warm afternoon that was nice for a brisk walk but the same couldn't be said about her two travelling companions. On her left, aloof and clearly not looking forward to the meeting ahead was her hanyou, his arms folded aggressively and his head sporting the baseball cap that served as camouflage for his ears. On her right, standing slightly further apart than usual, was her younger brother, who was also being uncharacteristically quiet and sombre.

She paused mentally, her thoughts upon Souta's odd behaviour. It certainly could be that he was still freaked out by Inuyasha's display of temper the night before - after all, she had to admit the hanyou could be very intimidating when he was furious, and for Souta, who idolised him like other kids idolised athletes and movie stars, that could well have been an awkward moment for him.

_Or he could just have overheard all the yelling and realised that his elder sister's going to die very soon._

She sighed. _Or maybe you're just overreacting and imaging things._ Nevertheless, she was probably going to have to talk to him about it soon.

"_Ne-chan_"

She blinked in surprise as her brother's voice reached up to her. Looking down at him, she followed the boy's hand as it pointed in the direction of a store a short distance away.

"_Ne-chan_ there's a bookstore over there can I go take a quick look? I wanted to pick up this week's Shounen Saturday."

Kagome raised an eyebrow. Was there something bothering the boy or not?

To her brother, she didn't voice her concerns, instead nodding with a small smile, "Sure, Souta just don't take too long. We're going to be late."

The hanyou glared over, "We're wasting time. Can't we just get thi-" He trailed off as she glanced over at him. He sighed, "Oh, all right. Whatever. Just hurry up."

The boy smiled slightly, crossing the quiet road and bounding into the store.

*****

Inuyasha leaned against the bench on the sidewalk across the street from the bookstore, eyeing the girl resting next to him as they waited for Souta to be done.

"How far away did you say we were?"

Kagome shook her head, "Not that we're about a block or two away, if I remember correctly."

The silver-haired hanyou remained quiet, ears twitching in annoyance, and the girl found herself venturing further.

"You're really not looking forward to this, are you?"

Silence.

Kagome sighed, instead focusing her attention on the street and the myriad of buildings that lined it. She looked up at the sky, breathing in the air - it was a really nice day, and it was surprisingly peaceful, especially considering that it was about lunchtime.

Her eyes narrowed as her train of thought trailed off.

It was indeed surprisingly peaceful. Too peaceful.

She nearly jumped when the hanyou beside her suddenly spoke up, his eyes narrowing as his ears perked up in attention, "Something's coming I can hear it."

The girl strained her ears trying to pick up what Inuyasha had heard, but without success. The hanyou, however, was continuing.

"It it sounds like a bunch of those rumbling wagons that are always moving along these roads."

She exhaled in relief, "Well that's kind of expect-"

She was interrupted by the sight of Souta emerging from the store, tiny hands carrying a large plastic bag. Finally, she thought. At least they could finally get off this unnervingly quiet street. She stood up to meet him.

That was when three large black cars swerved erratically onto the road, tires screeching in unison as they took the corner, already speeding down the lane, one actually getting up on the sidewalk as it roared towards them.

Directly towards them. 

The hanyou muttered a curse as his eyes darted about looking for a way out, eyes that soon widened in alarm as he realised that one of the cars had broken away and was aiming for Souta across the road.

Kagome stifled a gasp as she watched the car race towards her brother. Turning to the hanyou, she barely had time to call out his name before he reacted, scooping her up with one arm as he dashed across the road, reaching the boy almost instantly, even as the cars tailing them swerved to follow his motion. Turning his head around, he furiously tried to work out an avenue of escape, but there was no time to react. The two cars that had swerved to follow him crashed into the one that had been aiming for Souta, sending the vehicle screeching over - at full speed, directly at the three of them.

The hanyou cursed at the fates - there wasn't even time to leap out of the way. Dropping the two humans, he yelled at them to crouch down against the wall of the bookstore. Standing in front of them, he stretched his arms forward, bracing himself against the wall even as he dug his feet into the ground, hoping to prepare for the impact.

Hoping that he could protect them.

The girl held her now-shaking brother close, watching helplessly as the car, now wildly out of control, smashed into the hanyou standing protectively over them, the hood slamming right into his back and caving in from the force of the impact. Above her, she watched as Inuyasha grimaced, his face contorting with pain that was evidently coursing through his body. Fragments of the wall above them rained down on their heads, as the structure gave way at the point where his hands met brick-and-cement.

But the silver-haired hanyou's arms refused to buckle, his legs refusing to admit defeat. For a moment, he remained so, his eyes closed, his brow quivering as he fought pain Kagome could barely find herself imagining. 

Then, as quick as lightning, he raised one leg, kicking the vehicle clear across the road, smashing it into the building opposite. Wordlessly, he opened his eyes, sparing the two humans a quick glance to make sure they were okay before his gaze switched to one of fury and untold rage, turning around even as his hand reached down to his waist, drawing Tessaiga from its hilt. The sword transformed, resonating in the wind as it declared its readiness to fight, as the hanyou silently allowed himself a small grin, eyeing the two remaining cars.

Slowly, the girl stood up, her hand reaching back for her bow, preparing for the worst.

Quietly, she leaned over, whispering to the hanyou.

"Are you all right?"

Without taking his eyes away from the cars, he nodded lightly, "Yeah feels like there could be some bruising but I'll survive. Some youkai back home hit harder than that."

The car doors opened, even as the now-familiar shrill cry of the hanyou Kagome's once-humans filled the air. The girl shook her head - she should've realised it from the beginning. One foiled attempt at getting to her didn't mean they were going to stop trying.

_And I nearly got Souta into trouble as well._

She looked up at the sound of Inuyasha's voice. The hanyou was grinning widely now - obviously, he hadn't been injured too badly or at least appeared to be hiding it very well. He spoke.

"Is that all you could manage this time? Keh."

With one swing, he slashed out with Tessaiga in a horizontal arc, the blade slicing apart everything it touched, severing once-humans in half and ripping through the two cars like paper, remains of both collapsing to the ground. 

The grin refused to leave the hanyou's face. "Keh" he began, then stopped himself as he realised - the shrill cries that were the trademark of the once-humans hadn't abated.

Both human and hanyou glanced around. 

A mass of the creatures had turned the opposite corner, coming from around the bookstore, heading towards them. Inuyasha cursed again.

Turning to the girl, he spoke hurriedly, "Take Souta and go inside that store. Stay hidden. I'll handle this."

Kagome frowned. Grabbing her brother, she shoved him inside the doorway of the bookstore, ordering him to stay there, the boy doing so willingly. Reaching back for an arrow shaft, she primed her bow, walking up to and standing next to the hanyou, her weapon drawn and ready, aiming at the oncoming horde. She looked at her companion meaningfully.

Inuyasha spared her a glance. Shrugging his shoulders, he muttered softly.

"Suit yourself."

Breaking into a sprint, he charged forward even as Kagome let fly with her first arrow, the spiritual power of the _hama no ya_ slicing through the horde and diminishing their number.

The hanyou stormed into their midst, already fighting like a wildcat, as creature after creature was cleaved apart wherever he swung Tessaiga. Expertly placed arrows lanced forth from Kagome's bow as they continued to smash into the horde, even as the hanyou intensified his attacks, he and Tessaiga working as one as they ripped through the enemy.

*****

"You're late."

The girl glanced down, not quite meeting the elder hanyou's gaze. The younger, however, stared back at his future self openly, as though challenging him with his gaze. Kagome spoke.

"We we ran into some opposition on the way."

The older Inuyasha nodded as he moved over to glance out the window, "I guessed as much - that explains all that commotion I heard a while ago. A lot of people on the street here were wondering what was happening, but no one could get across to that side. I figured it was probably her doing. There wasn't anyone there, other than her creatures and you, right?"

At the girl's nod, he smiled, "She's obviously been busy. Hasn't given up on trying to get you, it seems. Not since the incident at the school, at least."

Kagome flinched as the younger hanyou's eyes widened. Despite that, however, he said nothing, carrying Souta wordlessly.

Something outside the window seemed to catch the elder Inuyasha's attention. Frowning slightly, he narrowed his eyes as though focusing, then turned to look at his younger self accusingly. He spoke.

"You want to tell me why there's a pile of lampposts blocking the road downstairs? I presume it's your doing."

The robed hanyou blinked. Kagome moved to intervene.

"Um well, after we got rid of the main body of creatures, another bunch of cars came screaming down the road and we decided enough was enough. Inuyasha grabbed both of us and ran off. We took a few rounds around the district, but I think we managed to shake them. Inuyasha wasn't so sure, and wanted to be cautious and decided um to to create a blockade."

The elder hanyou blinked incredulously, "Out of lampposts?"

The girl fidgeted, "Well there wasn't anything else available. Inuyasha wanted to use a couple of the buses parked downstairs, but I wouldn't let him so, well um"

The older Inuyasha sighed, "Look, never mind. Did anyone see him doing it?"

"I I don't think so. The road seemed clear."

He nodded, "Good. But it's useless. There's no need for it here I have a barrier up around the street that prevents those creatures from coming near here or even sensing anything here. It's something like what she used to block off the road you were on before attacking you with her creatures, except that it targets those creatures, instead of humans."

He paused, "After that incident yesterday, I even put one up around your school and at your home as well, so you should be safe there too."  
  
Looking back down at the street through the window, the elder hanyou forced back a grimace. Eyeing his younger self, he slid the window open, stepping up onto the ledge.   
  
Kagome started towards him, "What..."  
  
He turned to her, "Well, I can't just leave that there, can I? Sooner or later, there are going to be cars that need to go past this road, and when that happens, you can imagine the commotion that's going to take place, right? The last thing I need is another exposé on the exploits of my youth on the news, thank you very much."  
  
Elder hanyou stared pointedly at younger hanyou again, balancing on the window sill for a moment as he turned to scan the horizon, making sure no one was watching. Muttering a quick "I'll be right back", his form shimmered as the illusion took shape, silver hair giving way to black, dog ears to human ears, and gold to purple. Ignoring the surprise on his younger self's face, he leaped out the window silently.  
  
Minutes later, he returned, landing deftly on the sill as silently as he had departed, his form once again transforming back to the familiar. 

Getting back into the apartment, he dusted his hands, closed the window, and pointed to the sofa, "All right have a seat, and let's get started. I have a lot to cover right now."

"Um"

The older Inuyasha turned around, his tone giving way to slight exasperation, "What now?"

Kagome pointed at Souta, lying unconscious in the younger hanyou's arms, "Do you have somewhere we can let him lie down? I I think all the excitement was too much for him to take."

The elder looked at the insensate boy for a long moment. Then, stifling a small laugh, he took him off the other Inuyasha's hands, carrying him into the bedroom.

*****

Sitting heavily down on the armchair across from the sofa where Kagome and his younger self had planted themselves, the elder Inuyasha leaned back, resting himself, glancing at the girl.

"I'll say this much - whatever else she may have become, she certainly didn't lose the resourcefulness and intelligence that you always had."

The girl frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Well obviously, she knows something that I don't about the way things are going to turn out in all of this... I've discovered why things are different from how I remember them - she's done something to alter it."

He paused for a moment, as though collecting his thoughts, "It's possible, though only the most powerful youkai have ever been able to do it successfully, but it seems she's done it. She's used her power to create some sort of time void around all of us, at this point of time. It's kind of like a a moment that's not really a moment, where everything around you is drawn out of the normal timeline it's it's like as if time is a highway" 

He shrugged, " and our car's just been detoured off the highway and onto another road that's running parallel, but not quite the same."

Looking the two of them over, he continued, "What we need to do now is to find the slip road that'll connect us back."

The younger hanyou frowned, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

The girl at his side moved a hand to his lap, "You mean that she's drawn all of us out of the normal timeline in order to change something that's going to happen, something that she knows and doesn't want to happen and we need to stop her and restore the original timeline before more things get out of hand."

The elder hanyou nodded, his gaze taking in both of them.

"The only reason I can think of to explain why she's doing this is that maybe she knows that she's going to lose in the end."

Kagome frowned, "But how would she know that if you don't?"

Standing up, the elder hanyou started pacing slightly, "As I slowly unravelled the puzzle, it slowly began to make more sense - things only started to change from the way I remembered them the day we met at the warehouse. I remember rushing back here, all furious with you for being late, getting worked up by the fact that I thought you lost the shards again, then bounding around Tokyo searching for the impostor posing as me. We ended up at the warehouse, met the horde, and I got rid of them. I remember asking you to stay outside while I continued back in to deal with the rest of them. Inside, I detected some form of _youki_, but before I could do anything, some energy arrows took me down, and I crashed to the ground, surrounded by those creatures attacking me. The next thing I knew, I woke up, still very much injured, inside Kaede's hut with Miroku, Sango and Shippou staring over me. They told me that Kagome had come through the well with a human boy carrying me, and that she'd asked them to take care of my injuries while she went back to her world to settle some things. I was in no position to disagree, so all I could do was worry. But Kagome came back a couple of days later, and she said that everything was all right that she'd managed to get the shards back on her own, and that it had all been a big mistake."

He paused, "There was nothing I could say, and she wasn't too willing to say anything either, so I let it slide. Besides, we didn't have much time. Soon after she returned we encountered Naraku for the final time. It was only after that that I realised what had happened."

The elder hanyou eyed the girl, "That was why I was over at your place so soon after you left mine yesterday. I came over, because I was expecting that that was when you would ask me to bring him back, and that matters would proceed from there. It didn't make sense to me back then - I figured you were up to something, but I never thought it was something like this. Knowing what I know now, it unfortunately all falls into place - that in the way I remember things, while I was holed up in Kaede's hut healing, my Kagome - you, in the way things originally were - was back here helping me fight her future self. In the original timeline, I can only guess that we must've been successful, and she returned to you," he pointed at his younger self, " and to the battle with Naraku, for some reason or another, despite knowing that it meant her death."

The older Inuyasha sat back down, "So does it all make sense now?"

Kagome and the other Inuyasha remained silent for a moment. Then, the girl spoke up.

"What do we have to do now?"

The elder hanyou gazed at her, "Regardless of what's happened, she cannot be allowed to win this. The spell that she's used to create this time void probably works like any other miko or youkai spell - there are only two ways to stop it the one casting the spell must voluntarily release it or must be killed."

He smiled, laughing a bitter laugh, "It's ironic, but it seems that despite the change in time, my goals remain the same. All these years, I've tried to find a way to bring her around to bring her back to me, knowing that if I couldn't, I would have to find a way to kill her instead."

The younger Inuyasha glared at him, "And you're fine with doing something like that?"

Kagome squeezed the hanyou's leg, wordlessly telling him to back down, "Are are you sure there isn't any other way?"

Looking at her, the elder hanyou smiled, "None that I know of, at least. You could try asking the mikos and houshis around here if you think that'll help, but I'll tell you, the ones these days are nowhere near as experienced as they were back in the 16th century they probably wouldn't even be able to exorcise Myouga-jiji, if he were still alive."

He blinked as his words took hold, "Or you could try asking someone from back then."

The girl nodded, "_Wakatta_. We'll go back through the well and talk to Kaede. Maybe she can help us or point us to someone who can."

The elder hanyou agreed, "I guess it's worth a shot. Just just stay away from Naraku. Let's not go there until it's time."

Standing, Higurashi Kagome allowed herself to smile at the one who was the future of her hanyou, "We'll see you when that's done then."

He nodded, "And I'll bring your brother home, when he wakes up."

*****

The walk home from the elder hanyou's apartment had been relatively silent so far, as both human and hanyou absorbed all that had been told to them.

The hanyou was the first to speak.

"I I don't see why we can't just leave things as they are, leave this this 'time void' as it is, and just go back and rip Naraku up now. Maybe maybe this way, you won't have to die! Whatever she's done changes how things happen, right?"

The girl sighed. Again, the hanyou was giving voice to her inner thoughts. To him, however, her words were different.

"Yeah that could happen. But so can other things. What what if instead of Naraku killing me after his defeat, he kills you before he dies? Do you seriously think any of us stand a chance against him without you there?"

She looked away, " we can't take that risk, Inuyasha. And we shouldn't be playing around with time, anyway. It always screws up, especially in all those science fiction novels."

The hanyou was blushing, "I I just can't bear the thought of of"

She turned to face him, "Sacrifices, Inuyasha. We all have to make them. Unfortunately."

Looking at the way his face suddenly appeared all the more troubled, the girl laughed, reaching over to hug him, "Stop scowling like that! It's not all bad. Unless you've forgotten, something's already changed the old you the past that your future self remembers didn't know that I was going to die at the last battle with Naraku. You do. Maybe something'll work out, after all."

Inuyasha frowned, "But doesn't that bring us back to the same thing you're talking about that time could get messed up and Naraku could win?"

The girl's frowned matched his, as she processed his words, "Um yeah, I guess. Oh, this is just so confusing! The bottom line is we shouldn't make things worse by leaving them as they are. It's not right. We'll handle what's happened so far and and hope for the best. Besides, if we restore the timeline, the chances of things screwing up when we meet Naraku would be less, right?"

"Meaning that you'll die."

She scowled at him, bopping him on the head, "Stop saying that every chance you get. We're going to try our best not to let that happen, right?"

At that, the hanyou leaned over, kissing her lightly on her forehead. He smiled, "You can bet your life on it."

She sighed. They walked on silently.

"_Ne_ Inuyasha"

"What is it?"

The girl was looking away, "What what you said yesterday, when we were in bed... you said that"

Mentally, the hanyou froze, his heartbeat increasing, his face flushing as the realisation struck him. 

_She you mean, she did hear me after all?_

" that you loved me. Did did you really mean that?"

For a moment, the hanyou remained still, without responding. Then, he turned to face her, his hand coming up to her chin. He leaned forward. Their lips met.

"You can bet your life on that too."

*****

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah."

"Let's let's do it, then."

Standing at the top of the well, the hanyou and the human girl prepared themselves for the journey ahead. Their hands met. Looking at each other, they both nodded, looking down into the well that would take them back to the world that Inuyasha called home. Readying themselves, they took the plunge, falling headfirst as they normally did.

But the well failed to activate.

Plummeting to the bottom, the girl screamed, and, instinctively, the hanyou reached out to grab her, to protect her from the fall. He never made it. In front of his eyes, he watched helplessly as the girl disappeared, not in the familiar miasma of energy that said that the well was doing its job, but in a bright haze of pure blue light, her eyes pleading with him to save her even as they winked out of existence.

With a dull thud, the hanyou hit the ground.

In an instant, he was back on his feet, looking around for her, failing to see her. He looked up, only to see the wooden roof above that told him he was still in her world. Leaping out of the well in one clean jump, he smashed aside the doors of the well house, sniffing the air around for any trace of her scent.

There was nothing. Soaring up into the branches of the nearest tree, he scanned the horizon for her again and again, hoping against hope to see her somewhere, anywhere. 

Nothing.

The hanyou cursed, smashing a fist through the trunk of the tree. He dropped to his knees.

And roared her name.

*****

TO BE CONCLUDED - final chapter coming soon (sandrock@sandrockproductions.com)

_Author's Note: Well, that was an awfully long chapter, wasn't it? ^_^ Hope things have cleared up a little since the last chapter, and I hope you like the direction things are going in. It was a little difficult writing in all that fluff without making Inuyasha seem too out-of-character, but I hope I succeeded - it didn't seem right to have him act like he normally does after what happened in the last chapter. I also hope things weren't too confusing there towards the end, though I'd be happy to explain it if you did find it all too much to take in at one shot. Email me! Tell me what you liked or didn't like about it! I'm all ears. ^_^  
  
Oh... and if you want to know the details of what happened at the end of Chapter Three and before Chapter Four - that's coming soon.. or might already be there by the time you read this. Visit for the lowdown - not for younger readers though. You guys should just wait for Chapter 5. :)  
  
P.S. - Yes, I know it's Shounen SUNDAY. ^_^_


	5. A Tale of Two Hanyous Chapter Five Part ...

**INUYASHA - A TALE OF TWO HANYOUS CHAPTER FIVE - PART ONE  
By Sandrock (sandrock@sandrockproductions.com)**

**Legal Disclaimer  
Inuyasha do be the property of one Rumiko Takahashi**

**Content Guideline: PG-13, violence, sexual dialogue  
**

UPDATED March 15, 2004: Minor edits for spelling and grammar. Added Japanese word guide. No major plot changes. 

* * *

Japanese Word Guide  
  
"Aa... urusai!" - literally something like 'Oh, shut up!'  
hanyou - half-human, half-youkai. What Inuyasha is.  
ofuda - sacred talismans, occasionally used by Miroku, and not so effectively by Kagome's grandfather  
Sengoku Jidai - the Warring States era  
suikan - the upper half of Inuyasha's fire-rat armour.  
youkai - Japanese mythological creature, sometimes translated as 'demon'  
youki - youkai energy  


* * *

A primal roar resounded in the quiet night, startling the sleeping city of Tokyo. Those who awoke from slumber saw what could only be described as supernatural - a creature of the night, veiled in flowing robes of blood red, its wild eyes shining a menacing gold, like those of a wolf, with fangs glinting in the moonlight. It leapt from building to building, moving at a speed that easily outpaced the few vehicles that traversed the roads below. With claws digging into concrete and hair of death-white raging wildly in the wind, its feral animal ears sought out what could only be its prey, as its roar morphed into a single word, a single name repeated like a dark litany a girl's name.

* * *

Standing up to his full height in the morning sun that blazed down a brilliant gold, Inuyasha found himself unconsciously clenching a fist. Shifting his gaze to the large road beyond the quiet alleyway he had taken refuge in to keep away from human contact, his keen senses kept constant vigil, ready to react at the first sign of human life in an age unfamiliar with his kind. His mind raced.

The night that had just been condemned to oblivion by the rising sun was like a mindless blur - one he had spent racing hundreds of miles around the sprawling city Kagome called home, in an effort to detect some sign of the girl who had finally succeeded in doing what no other, not even Kikyou, had ever been able to do to him.

But his efforts, considerable though they were even by youkai standards, had come to naught.

The clenched fist moved, as though of its own will, meeting the target chosen to bear the hanyou's wrath, the sound of ripping metal and shattering glass a violent accompaniment to the fluids now gushing profusely onto the ground.

The hanyou was silent, removing his fist from the shattered wreck of the lone vending machine on the street he occupied. He gazed at his hand, but only saw hers - hers as they held hands just the day before, hers nestled snugly inside his firm grip as they walked down the street hers as they had lain together in bed.

The light breeze picked up in a sudden gust, sending locks of his silver-white hair astray, obscuring his vision. His fist clenched again.

He had never felt this powerless before.

* * *

The hanyou allowed himself a brief sigh as he carefully measured water into the cup of instant ramen patiently awaiting his attention on the kitchen counter. His actions were routine, done without thought, his attention focused on the major problem at hand, as he dumped the cup of noodles into the microwave and set the device to the proper settings.

He smiled momentarily, his mind distracted as he watched the cup rotate within the microwave - the food it contained representing one of the few remaining elements of a love affair that had begun over five centuries ago.

It was hard being around her again after so long hard to see her with another, even if that other wasn't really someone else. He shook his head.

Grabbing the cup out of the microwave, he crossed the apartment quickly, sitting down in front of his laptop computer, ready to face another intense session of scrutinising historical records and mythological lore databases, hoping to dig out something, anything, that would help them to put an end to the situation.

_And hopefully, those two can find someone back there who might know a thing or two about it as well._

He stuck his chopsticks into the cup of noodles, mixing the contents idly as he stared at the screen and at the endless reams of data. He sighed again.

The door to his apartment came crashing down, its wooden frame splitting into pieces as someone stormed in, the intruder's distinctive shouting already identifying him as clearly as if the hanyou had turned around to look.

For a moment, Inuyasha closed his eyes, clenching his fists as he fought his rising instincts, as he fought every urge to return to the wild ways of his youth, to tackle his younger self and to beat him into a pulp.

Suppressing his once-violent nature, the elder hanyou composed himself, allowing calm to preside once again. He turned around, eyeing the younger hanyou.

"I don't lock my door. You didn't have to break it down, you know."

The younger Inuyasha glared at him, "Shut up! I don't have time to waste on things like that! Something's happened to-"

The elder Inuyasha frowned, "You didn't go back down the well."

His younger self blinked, his ears twitching in surprise.

The other sighed, shaking his head as he tapped his nose, "You don't smell like you've been back there. Instead, you have the smell of this city all over you - what on earth have you been doing all night?"

"Looking for Kagome."

The elder hanyou blinked, "What?"

"Yesterday, we tried going back down the well. It didn't work and Kagome just disappeared. I've been trying to find her all night."

"Why didn't you come to me sooner?"

The two hanyous glared at each other. Silence.

The elder shook his head again, "Fine. It's not as if we really have to guess where she is, anyway."

"You know where she is?!"

"I have an idea. But first, we need to get back to the Higurashi shrine."

* * *

"I still don't see why we had to take that stupid thing back here!"

Elder hanyou glared at younger as they made their way up the steps to the shrine, "I've told you - it's easier to avoid detection if we're driving around like everyone else instead of leaping from building to building in broad daylight. There's a ward preventing her from finding us around my apartment and around the shrine, but she would've spotted us immediately if we'd gone about it the usual way!"

The younger hanyou glared back down at the elder Inuyasha's car parked at the base of the hill, "Well, it's still damn slow."

The elder turned away, "You didn't have to scratch my seats and wreck the dashboard to tell me that."

Golden eyes glared at the back of the other's head as though trying to make eye contact through the mass of braided black hair that was part of his elder self's illusion. His fangs were bared as he growled out, "I'll wreck the rest of it if you don't shut up and stop telling me what to do."

Deep violet eyes swung around to meet his glare, "If you want to save her, you -will- listen to me."

He paused, noticing the indignant look on the other's face. He sighed.

"Or at the very least start working with me a little more. This isn't the time for some chest-thumping 'I'm-better-than-you' competition. You go find the Higurashis and tell them we're here and explain the situation to them. I'm going to go look at the well."

The younger hanyou glared back for a moment, a challenge in his gaze. Slowly, he turned away, allowed himself a subdued 'Keh!' and leapt up into the sky, bounding towards the house. The elder Inuyasha watched him go.

_It's hard to believe I was ever that hot-headed and rude. I don't remember always being that bad thoughhe's probably in a foul mood over losing Kagome, I guess._

_Maybe I should cut him a little slack._

Slowly, the elder hanyou made his way over to the well house that had become so familiar over the years. It had been centuries since he'd been this close to it since there'd been a need to approach it. In the distance, his ears picked up the sounds of his younger self's voice, as well as those of Kagome's family as he explained the situation to them he wasn't doing a really good job of it, but it was enough for now. He sighed again.

Gently sliding open the doors of the well house, Inuyasha looked in. He frowned.

_Just as I thought. A definite presence._

His thoughts were interrupted by a new voice in the distance a familiar voice. His eyes widened.

_Houjou._

Quietly, he cursed his younger self. _Why the hell didn't he check to make sure no one else was around before he started blurting out stuff?_

The boy was talking to the younger hanyou now, it seemed, his voice insistent, demanding to know more about Kagome, insistent on doing something to help. Turning about, he spotted the small cluster near the door to the Higurashi house. Houjou was right in front of Inuyasha, his hands grabbing the hanyou's _suikan_, his brow creased with worry and concern. The hanyou wasn't saying anything.

That was never a good sign.

Quickly, he crossed the distance, joining the group, his arrival providing momentary distraction to the situation at hand. Looking at everyone and no one, he spoke quietly.

"I've confirmed it. I know who has Kagome." He looked meaningfully at the younger hanyou. _She does._

Houjou turned to him, letting go of the other Inuyasha, "What are you going to do about it? We can't just leave her in danger I I don't really know what's going on, but I want to help. I won't leave Kagome-"

A loud growl cut off his sentence, an instance before he had the wind knocked out of him as the younger hanyou grabbed the teenager, picking him up and slamming him against the wall of the house. The wall creaked menacingly.

For a moment, human and hanyou stared at each other, one in wide-eyed shock, the other in strangely unchecked fury, his golden eyes narrowing, his fangs bared, and ears tense. He spoke.

"I don't like you. I didn't like you the first time I saw you, and I don't like you now. Do you know what I am, human? I could crush you like a piece of paper right now if I wanted to. I've fought and taken down creatures larger than some of these buildings. I can outrun those stupid things you have on the roads down there and there isn't a human weapon out there that can kill me."

He thrust one clawed finger at the Tokyo skyline in the distance, "I could level half that city, and you or anyone wouldn't be able to stop me."

For a moment, the hanyou looked away, "I can do all that and I still wasn't able to protect Kagome from the one who has her now."

He glared at the boy again, "What the hell do you think a puny human could do for her?"

Both human and hanyou were silent. The elder Inuyasha watched, one hand on Souta's head as the boy stood behind him, his mother and grandfather a slight distance away, watching the scene play out.

"It doesn't matter."

The younger hanyou's eyes narrowed further. The human boy continued.

"It doesn't matter whether I can or cannot do half the things you say you can, or if the one who has her is as powerful as you say. Higurashi is a good friend a very good friend and I'm not going to abandon her just because you think I'm weak."

Brown eyes met golden, refusing to back down, the human boy's body tense and rigid, though whether from resoluteness or fear, no one could tell. The hanyou was silent.

"Keh."

He released the boy roughly, dropping him to the ground, and turning his back to him.

"Have it your way. Just don't expect me to save your sorry ass when you get into trouble."

The hanyou nearly jumped in mid-sentence as someone firmly took hold of his hand. He raised his eyebrows, his gaze tracing a path from the hand to the face of its owner.

Reaching out and grabbing Houjou's hand as well, Mrs. Higurashi looked at the both of them, "That's quite enough from the two of you. Why don't we all go inside and I'll make you something to eat? I managed to get some really fresh fish at the market this morning."

The hanyou stared. Kagome's mother tugged, her smaller hand barely managing to wrap around his larger, clawed one.

He allowed himself to be led.

* * *

Her vision was blurred.

Fighting off the unnatural daze that claimed her mind, Higurashi Kagome peered around, trying to clear whatever it was that was obscuring her vision. Her mind raced, trying to make sense, trying to recall what had happened.

They'd been in the well, heading back to the Sengoku Jidai. Inuyasha was with her but the well failed to activate. Instead, she felt herself getting swept away by some unseen force unlike the gentle waves of the well's time portal. Everything had gone black then.

The room was slowly coming into focus - dark and musty, thin slivers of illumination streaming into the room through a series of narrow slits that lined the top of the wall a short distance in front of her.

Blinking, she tried to turn her head, to look around, to see if Inuyasha was anywhere, but her body refused to cooperate, as though frozen in place.

"Thinking of Inuyasha, no doubt? How typical."

The voice echoed through the room, as though emanating from no distinguishable source.

The girl's eyes darted around the room, her field of vision limited by her inability to move. Finding her courage, she managed to give voice to the obvious.

"Who who's there? Show yourself."

A laugh.

"Do you really need to see me to know who I am? Let's not play games. You know exactly what's going on, my dear."

"I do?"

"Make a guess. You've always been the smart one."

"You're what I'm going to turn into after the final battle with Naraku, and you've spent the last five hundred years trying to kill Inuyasha, and you've brought me here to act as bait to get him into some kind of trap."

"Smart girl."

The voice coalesced into a form, several metres in front of her - a hooded form shrouded in a white cloak, standing at equal height to the bound girl.

Kagome glared at her future self, "It's not exactly the most original of plans, you know."

The form reached up, throwing back the hood of her cloak, and Kagome found herself staring at her double save for the long, silver hair and the deep, crimson eyes set deep in a face that smiled intently back at her.

* * *

The hanyou growled, trying to get a good look at the target of his annoyance, "Just what the hell is this supposed to be?!"

Sitting opposite the hanyou at the kitchen table, Jii-chan glared back, sipping from a small cup of green tea, "Isn't it obvious? It's an _ofuda_ to keep your _youki_ in check."

Ripping the _ofuda_ off his face and shredding it, the hanyou scoffed, "You old haven't you learned your silly talismans don't work on me?!"

Fingering the charm necklace around his neck, he continued, "You mean to tell me that after all this time, you still don't trust me without Kagome around to drag me around on this leash?"

Unperturbed, the elderly human closed his eyes, "Nothing of the sort. I hoped it would be a precaution. You you've been unusually destructive these past few days."

Inuyasha's blinked for a moment, then sighed, "You're still going on about that? Look, I've already apologised for all that crap!"

The old man resumed his glare, "Be that as it may, do you know what kind of trouble I have to go through now to get people up here to clear away the tree you put a fist through, to fix the walls you've cracked, -and- to replace the doors of the well house? Do you know how many calls I'll have to make, and how many hours I'll have to spend waiting for-"

"_Aa urusai!_ Fine, if it's such a big deal, I'll just go fix it up right now it'll take all of two seconds, and I won't have to listen to you whine like some-"

"Don't bother. I can still remember how you 'fixed' Kagome's bike. I'd like the house to still be standing when the repairmen come, thank you."

The hanyou shot him a look, but sat down silently. 

"My, my it's nice to see everyone all so lively again. It's been so long since we've had so many people around"

The hanyou looked up for a moment, turning to face Mrs. Higurashi as she stood at the counter, whisking a batch of eggs. For a moment, he seemed as though he wanted to say something, but that moment soon passed. He turned back towards the table, looking at the array of food set before him. Kagome's mother continued talking.

"Now where's Houjou-kun gone to? He was just here a moment ago"

The elder Inuyasha, still in human guise, looked up for a moment as he took a bite of food from his bowl, "He's making a phone call, Mrs. Higurashi. He'll be back in a minute."

"Ah, that's good then. His food's getting cold."

Turning to his younger self, Inuyasha sighed, "Believe it or not, the boy could be of some use. He's from a fairly influential family, as you should know by now, and he's got connections. He might be able to dig up some stuff."

The younger hanyou glared, "Why the hell do we need him to do that for us? We already know who has Kagome!"

"Do you know where she's holding her?"

The hanyou stopped. Turning away with another 'Keh!', he resumed staring at his food.

"Inuyasha-kun, what's wrong? You've barely touched your food. You normally have such a great appetite"

She was standing behind him now, looking at his bowl. The hanyou was silent.

"Inuyasha-kun?"

He whipped around, his face a mixture of anger and confusion, "What's wrong with you?! Your daughter's been captured! She's in danger, and we don't know how to find her, and all you can do is ask me why I'm not eating! Aren't you worried about her?! Doesn't she?!"

He stopped abruptly as Mrs. Higurashi's hand came up to rest on his head, neatly nestled between his two fur-lined ears. Her expression was serious, yet a hint of her omnipresent smile remained.

"Inuyasha-kun how long have you known Kagome?"

He blinked, "Over a year now, at least. Maybe longer. What does that have-"

She interrupted him again, "And in that time, my daughter has told me over and over again of the dangers you and your friends have faced, and how you've worked to keep her safe and protect her from dangers I couldn't even begin to imagine. You've done all that, and each time, my daughter has come back safely to me."

She smiled at him, "I don't think you're going to fail her now."

The hanyou watched her as she walked back to the counter, resuming her work.

_But I will. Even if I save her nowin the end, I will fail her... won't I?_

Hidden in the shadow of the partition that separated the rooms, Houjou watched the scene play out.

TO BE CONTINUED  



	6. A Tale of Two Hanyous Chapter Five Part ...

**INUYASHA - A TALE OF TWO HANYOUS CHAPTER FIVE - PART TWO  
By Sandrock (sandrock@sandrockproductions.com)**

**Legal Disclaimer  
Inuyasha do be the property of one Rumiko Takahashi**

**Content Guideline: PG, mild violence  
  
Summary: What appears to initially be a simple case of theft involving a few shikon shards and an impostor in the modern world embroils Kagome and Inuyasha in an epic struggle that has spanned five hundred years... one that's unfortunately all too close to home.**

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE  
Good news: I've managed to write enough to warrant making another 'part' of the final chapter.  
Bad news (of sorts): I'm still not done yet. ^^;  
  
**Author's Note II: I never got around to mentioning this before (everyone deserves a shameless plug once in a while, ne? ^_^), but A Tale of Two Hanyous won in the Best Action/Adventure category in the Inuyasha Fanguild's Spring 2003 fan fiction competition. Results here - **  


* * *

Japanese Word Guide  
  
'cute' complex - a character in this chapter will make a reference to the 'kawaii', or cute, culture that is so ingrained into the mainstream of Japanese society - things that would be considered childish by most adults in most Western societies are accepted as everyday norms, which explain the popularity of anime memorabilia and other merchandise, among other things. ^_^  
  
ano - Japanese equivalent of 'um...'  
goshinboku - the tree to which Inuyasha had been pinned  
gakuran - the traditional Japanese boy's school uniform worn by Houjou  
kendo - literally, "the way of the sword". Traditional form of Japanese fencing.  
suikan - the upper-half of Inuyasha's fire-rat armour  
youki - youkai energy  
hanyou - Half-human, half-youkai. What Inuyasha is.  
youkai - Japanese mythological creature, sometimes translated as 'demon'  


* * *

The bright afternoon sun was directly above, blazing down on the elder hanyou who stood silently in the courtyard in front of the Higurashi house, staring out into the distance.

The wind picked up, and with it came the scent of his younger self.

The meal had ended a few hours ago, shortly after Houjou had returned to the room, informing everyone that he had some people working for his father checking with the local authorities about any suspicious activity that had been observed or reported. They were still checking, but nothing much had surfaced, apart from what some were calling a freak accident the day before, involving three cars not too far away.

The two hanyous had exchanged a silent look, but nothing was said. Shortly after, the younger Inuyasha left the room.

Looking up, the elder hanyou leapt up gracefully, landing deftly on the roof of the house, inches away from his younger self, who was lying prostrate on the roof, staring up at the sky, as he often did when he wanted to get away from it all.

"Mind a little company?"

One golden eye moved to look at the newcomer, then wordlessly shifted back to gaze at the heavens.

Sitting down next to his younger self, Inuyasha leaned back on his hands, joining the other as he watched the clouds shift in the wind.

"I still don't understand why we couldn't go down the well. It's never done that before at least not to me."

Violet eyes turned in his direction, "I don't have all the answers, you know."

"I wasn't expecting one."

The elder hanyou smiled wryly, "Hmph."

Looking up again, he continued, "But if I had to guess it has to do with what's happened to us, how we've been pulled out of the normal timeline. Something tells me you won't be able to go back down that well until we've broken the spell and restored ourselves to the normal time stream."

He turned to gaze at the one beside him, his braided black hair whipping in the wind, "Which makes it all the more important that we resolve the situation soon. If the well can't work under these conditions, you can't go back. If you can't go back, then Naraku wins. We can't have that. He has to be dealt with."

The younger Inuyasha closed his eyes, "And Kagome has to die."

The elder hanyou was silent.

Standing up, he turned away, "Try to get some rest. Houjou said he's not likely to hear back from his people for a few more hours, and after your running around Tokyo last night, you should sleep a bit."

Violet eyes turned around to look at the younger Inuyasha as he cut off the protest that was already forming, "Don't give me the 'I'm stronger than that' speech. I know you can take a lot more than that, but with the way things are turning out, this isn't going to be easy. You're going to need every bit of that strength of yours. So, don't argue. Just rest."

With that, the elder hanyou turned, sliding to the edge of the roof, and dropping down.

* * *

Shutting the door behind him, the elder Inuyasha slowly made his way back into the house, lost in thought. 

_What on earth was there for her to gain by abducting her younger self? Did she really think that she needed to give us some sort of incentive to come find her? She couldn't possibly be thinking of killing her, or using her as some sort of hostage, could she? After all if anything happens to the younger Kagome, the hanyou Kagome will cease to exist as well_

Turning the corner into the television room, so lost in thought was he that he failed to notice the boy coming from the other direction, running headfirst into him and knocking the human to the ground.

His train of thought broken, he blinked in surprise, looking down at Houjou sprawled on the floor, immediately reaching out to give the boy a hand.

The hanyou smiled sheepishly, as he helped the boy off the ground, "Sorry about that. You all right?"

Houjou winced slightly, rubbing the shoulder that had born the brunt of the impact, "Yeah, but I should've been watching where I was going too."

The hanyou nodded, "Well, then. I don't suppose there's any news yet?"

Shaking his head, the boy responded, "Not yet, I'm afraid. But you know I'll let you know as soon as anything happens."

"Yeah, I know."

Awkward moment over, Inuyasha turned away, beginning to leave.

"_Ano_"

He glanced over his shoulder at the boy, standing behind him, now looking very uncomfortable. The hanyou sighed, knowing the look only too well.

_He wants answers, but he doesn't know how to ask. Where have I seen this before?_

"Um I didn't hear the whole story regarding Higurashi's disappearance, but are you are you really the same person as that um"

The hanyou smiled, "As that violent guy with the dog ears? Yeah, you could say that."

The boy paused, as though uncertain, "But you don't look like him at all. I mean there's a certain resemblance, but you"

Houjou took a step back, his sentence interrupted as the boy with the dark braided hair and violet eyes standing in front of him started to shimmer, like rippling water in a pond, his form shifting and changing, his hair turning silver-white, with a pair of furry puppy ears crowning his head, even as claws appeared where fingernails should've been. Opening eyes that shimmered golden amber, the one who had looked so human just moments ago smiled at the boy, prominently displaying a pair of sharp-looking fangs.

The human boy swallowed, startled by the uncanny resemblance. If not for the fact that the one in front of him was still decked out in a crimson t-shirt and jeans

"Any better? I use that illusion quite a bit these days. Makes it a little easier to get around unnoticed."

Houjou found himself speechless for a moment.

"But what how I mean, are you twins?"

The hanyou smiled, "It's a little more complicated than that, but I can fill you in on it later, if you want."

Nodding, the boy just stared, "I can't imagine I mean, you're nothing like him"

"Age tends to have a calming effect on a person."

The boy raised a hand to the front of his _gakuran_, lightly fingering the area where just hours ago, a steely hanyou hand had clamped down, "Well at least you didn't try to crush me to death against a wall."

Closing the distance between them, the elder hanyou put a hand on the boy's shoulder, "You caught him at a bad time. But he's really not as nasty as he seems. Believe me, if he wanted you dead, you would be. But he's not like that I know it. If you ask him, he'll scoff and say something about there being no challenge in killing humans, but that's got nothing to do with it. The problem with Inuyasha the problem that was mine at one time as well"

He smiled at the boy, " is that his heart is more human than he'd ever want to admit."

* * *

The girl winced as she stretched her body, working out the kinks from having been rendered immobile for so long. Keeping her captor in view out of the corner of her eye, she remained silent, considering her options.

Before she even realised what was happening, she heard herself ask.

"Why?"

The shrouded form of her future self turned around at her remark, her expression a measure of curiosity mixed with condescension and a touch of humour.

"We always did have a habit of asking too many questions."

Her eyes seemed to glow a deep red as she swung about fully, gazing at her younger self. Her voice was emotionless as she responded, "You already know why you're here."

The human girl matched her gaze, refusing to back down, "That's not what I mean."

She paused, "Why did you turn against him? You we love him."

For a moment, the hanyou just looked at her.

"Love."

Her voice still refused to give anything away, "I might have loved him once. Maybe. But that was five hundred years ago. Unfortunately, love is the one emotion I've discovered doesn't quite stand up too well against time."

She turned away.

"Especially when it's unrequited."

Kagome stood up, her gaze fixed on the back of her future self, "You know he loved you, as much as you love him. You know that."

She paused, hesitating.

"He still loves you."

The hanyou laughed.

Turning around, she had a wry smile on her face, "All that means is that it's going to be a lot easier for me to kill him than for him to kill me."

"We had a second chance."

The hanyou Kagome blinked, her smile gone.

Taking a step forward, the human girl continued, "We had a second chance, here in this whatever it is you've done. He he told me. He said he loved me."

She took another step forward, the hanyou Kagome stepping back.

"You don't have to do this. You don't have to kill him, don't you see? We have a second chance, a chance to do things differently. My Inuyasha knows what happened to you it doesn't have to happen that way."

Taking another step forward, the girl stifled a scream as she felt herself picked up like a rag doll by some unseen force, her hands and legs once again bound as they were just moments ago to some invisible wall. She looked back at her future self.

Her captor's eyes were dark, "If you thought a few words would be able to undo five centuries of hate you're either a lot stupider than I remember ever being, or you've underestimated just how stubborn I we always were."

With that, the hanyou turned as though to leave, her form shimmering, fading into nothingness moments later.

The girl looked down.

_Your stubbornness isn't the only thing I've underestimated._

* * *

"So Kagome is in love with him."

Houjou stared down at the cola can sitting quietly on the kitchen table in front of him, as though trying to take refuge within its confines, trying not to look at the silver-haired hanyou sitting next to him.

The wind picked up, wafting in through the kitchen window. Raising a hand to brush his fringe out of his eyes, the hanyou nodded, his other hand idly toying with a can of juice.

"I don't know when it happened, or when she realised it herself. All I can say is that the moment she unsealed me from that tree five hundred years ago I knew she was special."

The hanyou paused, smiling, "Of course, at the time, I thought she was special for a very different reason, and my mind was clouded with anger. But over time, she helped heal all that, and before I knew it I was in love with her."

He cut off a sad laugh abruptly, "Not that I ever managed to tell her so."

The human boy looked down, "It appears, Inuyasha-san, that we are very alike in that respect. I have liked Higurashi for a long time, but I have never been able to come out and say it to her directly. I kept dropping all these hints, hoping she would pick up on them, wondering why she didn't. Now I understand why."

He smiled wryly, "I never stood a chance, did I?"

"There was another as well a wolf youkai called Kouga who was madly infatuated with her he and I used to get into fights all the time because of that rivalry. Even if I wasn't able to express it outright to her, on some instinctive level, I guess I knew she was mine, and I hated the way Kouga would take every opportunity to touch her or smooth-talk her. But I never had to worry. I was too blind to see it before, but for some reason, she never once fell prey to his charms. She remained with me, though I just couldn't understand what she saw in me."

The boy shot back dryly, with just a hint of a smile, "Maybe it's those dog ears of yours. Higurashi's always had a far more developed 'cute' complex, which is saying a lot."

Inuyasha blinked, uncertain how to respond. The human boy was being rather difficult to read. What was he feeling? Did he want an explanation? To be consoled? He continued.

"Kagome saw a lot of good in you, Houjou. You were the sweet, boy-next-door, a great friend. At times, I suspect she wished I'd been a bit more like you, and less the rude, obnoxious, violent hanyou I used to be. Over time, as I realised how much she meant to me, I slowly started to mellow down a little, appreciating her for being able to bring out so much of the part of me that was human, yet never wanting me to change."

Looking up at the boy, his eyes took on an almost wistful gleam, "She accepted me for what I was. Yet, I never really managed to thank her, or do anything for her in return nothing worthy of what she had given to me, at least."

Golden eyes met brown.

"But my younger self has been given a second chance, of sorts. Unlike what I went through, he and Kagome have expressed their love for each other."

The human boy broke eye contact.

"I'm sorry, Houjou."

The boy was silent for a long moment.

"You know, I've always thought these love triangles only existed in movies and soaps I don't even know what to think right now. Should I just calmly accept it? Should I be sad? Angry? Should I go up to him and punch him in the face for taking her away from me?"

He stifled a small, dry laugh, "He'd probably break my arm before I could touch him."

Eyeing the boy, still trying to assess his emotional state, the elder hanyou replied dryly, "If it'll make you feel better, you can hit me as hard as you want."

The boy paused.

"No, thank you, Inuyasha-san. That's just not the way I am."

Houjou closed his eyes.

"But I would like to be alone for a while, if you don't mind."

The hanyou nodded.

* * *

Sitting beneath the sacred _Goshinboku_ tree, enveloped in the shade provided by its ancient branches from the intense afternoon heat, the elder hanyou found himself surveying the sprawling compound of the Higurashi shrine.

A serene quiet had settled over the immediate vicinity, marred only by the sounds of the bustling city in the distance. Letting his mind take him back to countless memories of the times he had spent with Kagome underneath or inside the branches of this tree all those years ago, Inuyasha folded his arms, kicking off his black, high-cut sneakers as he stretched out his legs. He leaned back, resting his head against the wooden trunk.

It was already well into the afternoon, but as was usual for this time of the year, there was still at least a good five hours of daylight left. He looked down.

The human boy, Houjou, had left a couple of hours ago, presumably to go check on the people he had trying to dig up whatever clues would present themselves, his expression fairly unreadable from the time they'd had their talk in the kitchen, right until he left. Souta had gone off for soccer practice moments later, and Kagome's grandfather was taking an afternoon nap, while Mrs. Higurashi set about her usual routine. Even his younger self wasn't up to much, the muted snores coming from the rooftop a clear indication that he'd apparently decided to take the advice offered him and sleep for a bit.

For a moment, the elder hanyou toyed fleetingly with the idea of resting himself, to conserve his strength, but immediately quashed it as his ears picked up the sound of a car stopping at the foot of the hill, moments before Houjou's distinct scent came wafting up in the breeze.

Leaping to his feet, he barely acknowledged the dull thump and the billowing cloud of dust that marked the spot where his younger self, apparently also having noted Houjou's scent, had landed after jumping off the roof.

Reaching the human boy as he made it to the top of the flight of stairs leading up to the Higurashi shrine, the elder Inuyasha's expression was that of a silent question, even as he studied the boy for any hint of his emotional state. Meanwhile, the younger hanyou, barely restraining himself from tackling the boy in his zeal, stated the obvious, demanding answers.

Houjou nodded, setting down the things he'd been carrying as a small smile appeared on his face, "We have a lead."

"We managed to pull a few strings with the local police and there's been one report that fits with what you've told me. Yesterday, the Tokyo Bay police division was called in to investigate a newly completed building in that area that was meant to be the new offices for one of the larger banking corporations. A construction crew had gone in that morning to inspect the area and put in some final touches, but when they didn't report back, the company sent a supervisor to check, and he found the body of one of the members of the crew sprawled on the plaza in front of the building he recognised the uniform and the nametag, but that was about it, as the guy's body appeared to have been decomposed beyond recognition, but in a strange way as though it'd been dried up or something."

The younger Inuyasha's eyes widened.

_As the hanyou set her down again, Kagome turned cautiously, looking inside the brightly lit room only to stifle a gasp. It was, indeed, a guard post, and it presumably did once act as a base for security personnel guarding the warehouse._

_Now, it was simply a morgue. Four bodies, withered and shrivelled, but otherwise intact and still in their uniforms, sat slumped in their seats in front of a large, damaged surveillance console._

The human boy nodded, "That reminded me of what Inuyasha-san told me that the two of you had encountered at the warehouse a few days ago. Anyway, the police sent in a team to investigate and they, too, failed to come out of the building. It's been cordoned off now and declared out-of-bounds until they can sort it out, but there's no one there."

The elder hanyou nodded, reaching out to pat Houjou on the shoulder, "Good work. We'll take it from here. Just give us the add-"

"I'm coming along, Inuyasha-san."

The elder hanyou blinked. He opened his mouth as though to say something, but not before the younger Inuyasha cut in with a loud growl, taking a step towards the boy.

"Stop joking around! You heard what happens to any human who goes inside there! You don't know what you're going up against, you stupid-"

The boy refused to back down, meeting the hanyou's hard gaze, "I -do- know what I'm going up against. Though I didn't know what they were at the time, I came face-to-face with two of those creatures when they came looking for Higurashi at school. I wasn't able to do anything to help her then, but I'm not going to give up. I'm willing to take that risk, for her sake."

He looked away, adding quickly, "As a friend."

The younger hanyou eyed him for a moment, his expression still one of steely aggression. His voice was rough, "And what makes you think you'll do any better this time?"

Houjou reached down, picking up one of the items he'd set down just moments ago, a long shaft, wrapped in cloth. Deftly untying the knots, the cloth fell away, revealing an ancient sword, its scabbard polished, and its hilt ornate in design.

"This sword has been in my family for generations. The family history says it was last used by my ancestor, Houjou Akitoki, who lived around the time that you say you come from. He brought great honour to our house in that difficult time, and his sword is a family treasure."

He looked up, drawing the blade from its scabbard partially, revealing a glint of metal, "I'm not very skilled, but I do have some experience with _kendo_. And I am willing to do everything I can to help rescue Higurashi."

The hanyou didn't even blink, "We're not dealing with humans. I punched one of those creatures across the face with enough force to have ripped -your- head right off your shoulders, and it didn't even feel it. I had to hit it a lot harder to take it down. A sword like that's not going to even be able to break skin. You're not-"

"Inuyasha."

The younger hanyou's head whipped around, turning to face his elder, watching.

"Every moment we spend here arguing only delays us that much longer. If Houjou wants to help, why should we stop him?"

Placing his hand on the boy's shoulder again, the elder hanyou nodded as he looked into Houjou's eyes, a certain understanding passing between them.

_He needs to do this. As a form of closure for what might have been._

Reaching out to grasp the blade of Houjou's sword with his other hand, the elder Inuyasha gently took it from the boy, shifting his grip with one swift motion from blade to hilt, holding it up, inspecting it in the sunlight.

Silently, the hand that had been on the boy's shoulder moved, stretching forward to meet the blade. The cutting edge of the sword made contact with the hanyou's claws, the fingers of his hand angling to line them up perfectly, as Inuyasha swiftly began the process of sharpening the boy's weapon with his hands.

Ignoring Houjou's wide-eyed stare, he gave the metal a few more quick strokes, holding it up to the light again, studying it momentarily before lowering it, bringing the hand that had moments ago acted as a sharpening stone up to grip the base of the blade, the metal squeaking slightly as he displayed precision control, bending it a fraction of an inch. Turning to the boy, the elder Inuyasha flipped the sword around hilt-first, offering it back to him.

"The sword was a little warped, which would've lowered its effectiveness, but I've straightened it. I've also sharpened the blade for you and I've imbued it with some of my _youki_."

He paused, "Depending on your own skill, you should be able to cleave right through any of those creatures with this now."

Reaching out tentatively, the boy looked at the sword in his hands, as though unsure of what to do or say. The elder hanyou nodded, more to himself than to anyone, turning to glance at his younger self, who was pointedly ignoring the entire exchange.

"I'll do my best."

His gaze returned to the human boy who was now facing the ground in a deep bow, holding the sword aloft with both his hands, high above his head. A sign of acceptance. 

The hanyou smiled, "I know you will."

Houjou straightened, returning the sword to its scabbard, his brown eyes gleaming with enthusiasm, "Shall we go, then? I have a car waiting for us downstairs we can leave immed-"

"Keh! You can come along and get killed for all I care, but we're NOT taking one of those stupid metal carts again!"

Having said his piece, the younger Inuyasha folded his arms and glared at his would-be companions, as though challenging them to oppose him on this as well, his expression clearing insinuating that he'd sooner leap down the hill and smash both cars than sit inside one a second time.

Ignoring the nervous glance the human boy shot in his direction, the elder hanyou smiled.

"Fine. Let's go."

TO BE CONTINUED


End file.
